Interview: Cassie @ The Magical Adventures of Cassie the Weird

So the promise was something different today, guess what?! There isn't, it's another interview. Just as I sat down to write a post, I had to go out. So the only thing I had was an interview, but what an interview it is! Cassie @ The Magical Adventures of Cassie the Weird has the best answers.

 

How would you describe yourself and your blog?
Um...well, I'm Cassie. I'm considered by most people to be a bit strange (to the point where if they saw me walking around with sticky-tape on my forehead they wouldn't question it...true story), which is probably the reason my internet name became Cassie the Weird.

Well, that and the fact that it has a nice ring to it.

I'm book-obsessed. I can turn almost any conversation into one about books, and I recommend people books like crazy.

My blog is really just another part of this obsession. I love talking about books, but I don't know many people who are happy to talk about them non-stop. I have friends willing to listen to me go on and on about them, but they don't read as much as I do.

So really, when you think about it, if I was a website, my blog would be what I looked like.

How long have you been blogging for?
Well, I sort-of started a couple of years ago, but it didn't last very long and it was too much effort, so I stopped.

I like to say that my official starting date was in June, 2014. Because that is when I started really getting into it.

So, officially, I have been blogging for about 6/7 months.

What would you say your biggest hobbies are?
Well, I suppose reading is the obvious one. And blogging is the other obvious one.
Other than that...I enjoy listening to music. I LOVE movie soundtracks, so I sort of make a hobby of collecting them.

And clocks. I love collecting clocks. I have about 30 now.
And I very much enjoy binge-watching TV shows. The latest was Buffy for the first time.
I also enjoy cleaning. Because I'm weird like that.

Do you want to follow any of your hobbies as a career?
Oh, I forgot to mention writing. I also enjoy writing.

I sometimes think it would be fun to have a career as a professional blogger, or something, but that probably won't happen.
Same thing with writing. While it would be totally awesome to be published one day, I'm not going to count on it, nor do I plan on ever just writing full time.
My actual career plan is to become a teacher. Because I do enjoy teaching.
Who/what is your biggest inspiration?
Urgh, I knew it was only a matter of time before these questions started getting hard...

I always have trouble with these questions, because I don't know if I ever really get 'inspired' by anyone...I never look at someone/something and think 'I want to be like them'/'If they can do it, I can do it'...
Apparently a lot of people do, but I don't.

That doesn't really answer the question, but I can't think of another way to answer...

What is your best blogging advice?Don't stress about it. Life happens, and sometimes blogging becomes a smaller priority, and that's fine.
And it doesn't matter if your blog isn't perfect.
Also, while 5 books doesn't seem like a massive amount when you're requesting them all on Netgalley, it really is. And it's a bad idea. Especially if they all come out around the same time.

Do you have a favourite author? If so, who?
OH MY GOODNESS SO MANY!!
Maggie Stiefvater, Kiersten White, Richelle Mead, Michelle Hodkin, Julie Kagawa, Cara Lynn Shultz, Rachel Hawkins, Rick Riordan, Jessica Shirvington, Brigid Kemmerer, Sarah J. Maas...there's probably more.

What’s your favourite TV show?
Oh, man, I have heaps of these, too.

Doctor Who, Charmed, Buffy, The Office (US), The Mentalist, Castle, Once Upon a Time, Elementary, Merlin, Survivor, The IT Crowd, The Simpsons, Futurama, Big Bang Theory...

I think that's it.

Have you ever written a novel, if so was it published?
No, I have not yet finished writing a novel. My plan is to finish one this year.
If I ever get published, you will all know about it, don't you worry.

I've got something coming tomorrow or sometime. I decided I'd share some quotes from a novel I'm writing. So if you're interested, please tell me!

-Kat
 

Interview: Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons

One of the first people to welcome me into the blogging world was Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons. Ever since then she's been a great friend and source of idea. So I'm really excited to be sharing her interview today!

 

How would you describe yourself and your blog?
Me, I'm a fantasy loving writer with an addiction to books, music, and copious amounts of tea and chocolate. I prefer the peace and quiet of my house to parties, though I always love making new friends, whether in real life, or on the internet. I have a habit of quoting movies constantly and randomly breaking out in song at odd moments. Overall I would describe myself as more than slightly weird, but completely harmless.

My blog, it's my little writing cave on the internet, a place for me to connect with other writers and hopefully give them a couple of ideas for their own writing. It's where I frequently mix music and writing, share my excitement for books and occasionally wail at the unfairness of editing.

How long have you been blogging for?
I've had my current blog for about nine months, but I've actually been blogging for about four years. I don't think that makes me very experienced yet, but I at least have a few things worked out, and the best thing about having blogged for a few years is that I've had time to meet some amazing people and discover some awesome blogs (like Kat!)

What would you say your biggest hobbies are?My biggest hobbies are reading, writing and music. My love of reading and writing go hand in hand, and are my two biggest passions, as you can probably tell by the fact I have a blog about reading and writing. Music is another great love of mine. I both play the piano and sing, and love doing both. These three hobbies of mine pretty much run my life most of the time.

Do you want to follow any of your hobbies up as a career?
Yes indeed. Writing is my main hobby, and it's a passion that I would like to make my career, either as a writer or an editor, or both. I'm actually studying writing and publishing in university as my degree, which is amazing. It's not only taught me an awful lot about writing, and forced me to write in some genres that I otherwise might not have tried, but will hopefully give me a better chance of working as a writer. I'm very lucky to have the chance to make my hobby my career.

Who/what is your biggest inspiration?
I don't think I have any one person as my inspiration, but I can name a couple of sources of inspiration. Peter Hollens and Pentatonix are both musicians, and they both perform acappella music. It's not normal, and they might have been scared of following their own unique way of making music, but they didn't and as a result they now make amazing music on YouTube that I can enjoy. People like them inspire me to do what I want to do without worrying that it might not be popular. Other writers in general also inspire me. They're an awesome group of people who dedicate themselves to writing their books with single-minded focus and are always willing to help each other out. In particular writers Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson inspire me. Though they are both very busy writing and looking after families, they also make time to help a huge community of young writers. They inspire me to keep writing and to try and help other writers wherever I can.

What is your best blogging advice?
My best blogging advice is: blog like yourself. I really love Cait from 'Paper Fury's' blog. I love her writing style, her amazing posts, and the community she's built up. But if I blogged like her, I wouldn't have the same success. There's already one 'Paper Fury'. I need to write like Imogen from 'Gossiping with Dragons': Learn from other blogs. See what other people are doing and what might work for you, but blog like yourself. Don't waste your time writing with someone else's voice. Trust me, your own voice suits you so much better.

Do you have a favourite author? If so, who?
Oh, I find it so difficult to pick just one favourite author. I like Rick Riordan for his humour, Jane Austen for her elegant writing and witty dialogue, and Juliette Marillier for her creative fantasy worlds that suck me right in. So it's very difficult to pick an overall favourite. At the moment however, my current favourite author is a tie between Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles, and Maggie Stiefvater, author of the Raven Cycle. Hopefully you'll forgive me for cheating and naming two.

What’s your favourite TV show?
I have to admit, I'm not a big TV watcher, so I don't have a lot of favourite TV shows. I am a fan of Dr Who. Doctor No. 9 is my favourite. At the moment however, my favourite TV show is Marvel's Agents of Shield, which we just bought the season one box set for. Not only is it epic fun to watch, but it's giving me lots of superhero inspiration. Too bad I'm working on a fantasy book at the moment...But it's an excellent TV show, and definitely worth watching, if you haven't seen it already.

Have you ever published a novel?
Sadly, though I've written 17 novels so far, I haven't yet gotten to the stage where I could publish one. I'm still on the journey towards that goal, and learning much about the special skill it takes to be patient through the editing process while I'm at it. One day though, in the not too distant future I hope, I will see my name on the front cover of a book in the shops. In the meantime, I'll just keep working, being patient, and sharing my journey with other writers and bloggers.

I hope everyone isn't getting bored with interviews, because there are still more to come. But when I have a free moment, I'll bulk them out with a post of my own. I just need to get some free time. Term is back and I have no free time again! Thanks Imogen for the interview, it's been amazing. I've learnt so much!

-Kat 

Interview: Paige @ The Joys of Being Paige

 

I'm currently in the role of interviewer still! So today I'm posting another one I've done. This time with talented Paige @ The Joys of Being Paige.

 

 

How would you describe yourself and your blog?
Hello!
I would describe myself as quite a creative person, I am 14, and I love blogging and taking pictures! I started my blog in April 2014, and I am really enjoying every moment of it. I would class my blog as 'lifestyle', as it is a place where I share thoughts, little recipes that I love and a bit of everything, really!


What would you say your biggest hobbies are?Well, blogging is definitely one! Aside from that, I enjoy photography, singing and dancing, and if hanging round with friends is a hobby, then that too!


Do you want to follow any of your hobbies up later in life as a career?
I would definitely want to pursue photography as a hobby, and maybe as a side job for my main job! I would love to think that that would be possible, but I will have to see where my blogging takes me! Singing and dancing will always remain as a hobby, I think!

Who/what is your biggest inspiration?
I know it sounds silly, but I would say my mum and dad! They are happy and sucessful in their jobs, and that is exactly what I want to be!

What is your best blogging advice?

I would say just to be yourself, and only write posts that you would enjoy yourself! If you don't enjoy what you write, then that will surely make it boring for your readers! Also, try and include a picture in every post, as then the post will be more eye catching.

 

Do you have a favourite author? If so, who?

​I read lots of different books by many different authors, so I wouldn't say I have a favourite as such, but I do enjoy Lauren Kate and John Green. All of their books which I have read I really enjoyed, and I would like to read some more!

 

What’s your favourite TV show?

My favourites at the moment are Death in Paradise and Broadchurch! 

Have you ever written a novel, if so was it published?

No, apart from the ones I wrote when I was little! Getting a book published would be a interest to me though, will have to work on it!

Thanks Paige for this opportunity. I had a great time interviewing you! I've more interviews coming, but I'll try to post some other things in around them so you don't get an overload!

 -Kat

Interview: Arushee

Today's post is another interview. This time with the amazing, Arushee @ Unadorned Gifts. You should totally read her answers!

 

 

How would you describe yourself and your blog?

Oh, this is a hard question. I'm constantly met with the challenge of matching my blog to my personality. I would describe myself as outgoing and imaginative, and I hope my blog is able to convey that!

  

How long have you been blogging for?

I've been blogging since last July, so it's been just a little over six months!

 

What would you say your biggest hobbies are?

I have far too many hobbies to keep track of! If I only had to choose a few, I'd say playing music (both the guitar and the oboe), writing poetry and prose, blogging, reading, and generally wasting time online.

 

Do you want to follow any of your hobbies up later in life as a career?

I'm currently a bit hazy on what I want to do once I grow up, but I'd love to incorporate both writing and music into my later life!

 

Who/what is your biggest inspiration?

Hmm. I am inspired by a lot of my favorite authors -- Cornelia Funke, Agatha Christie, and Avi are just a few of them. Some of my blogging inspirations are Carlotta Cisternas, Samantha Heather, and Hannah Nicole.

 

What is your best blogging advice?

My blogging motto is extremely simple: be yourself, deliver original content, and write a variety of posts.

 

Have you ever written a novel, if so was it published?

It is my biggest dream to write a novel: I'm waiting for a great idea to come to me, so I mostly work on short stories at the moment. I hope to begin working on one soon, though!

 

 Thanks so much Arushee for this honour. I've had a great time. I hope that you've enjoyed yourself as well!

 

-Kat 

Interview: Bryleigh

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Bryleigh @ A Little Yarn Blossom. I had a great time and today, I'm posting it here.

 

How would you describe yourself and your blog?I'm friendly, to say the least. I love people. I'm good at making friends, because I literally will go up to people and introduce myself. I made friends with a librarian once by doing that. It was pretty funny. I'm also sassy, sarcastic, outgoing, and bright. My blog is a welcoming space to hang out, and listen to me ramble. I'd describe it as a chill corner of the internet.

How long have you been blogging for?
One year, and two months on the 27th!

What would you say your biggest hobbies are?
Knitting, crochet, blogging and reading. I have so many more, but those are the main ones.

Do you want to follow any of your hobbies up later in life as a career?
Not sure. Design is something I want to do for sure, but it's all a numbers game for me.

Who/what is your biggest inspiration?
Oooh. Good question. That'd probably be Ellen DeGeneres, and just life.

What is your best blogging advice?
Keep going. You can do it!

Do you have a favourite author? If so, who?
That would be Lauren Myracle or Sarah Dessen. They're both great authors!

What's your favourite TV show?
The Ellen DeGeneres show!

Have you ever written a novel, if so was it published?
Nope, but someday! It's on my list!

I hope you enjoyed that interview, because I've got quite a few more on the way. I'd just like to thank everyone who has been kind enough to answer my questions.

-Kat

The Fairy's Plea

via

The wind howled around us. The screams of the fairies filling our ears, chilling us to the bone. We’d never heard a sound like it.

 

Clutching each other, we crouched together, too terrified to move. The stories we’d been told our whole lives filled our ears, telling us there was no hope left, we’d be dead by morning.

 

Shivering, I grabbed the hilt of my sword, wondering if it’d do anything to help me if the fairies attacked. I didn’t want to find out. I silently prayed to god. Let me live!

 

Suddenly the roar of the fairies got louder. It was so loud my ears felt like they would burst. I drew my weapon, knowing it was no use.

 

My eyes went wide as a fairy appeared in front of me. I remembered how I’d always wanted to see a fairy, but that was before all this. Now seeing it was my worst nightmare.

 

All around us, the fairies gathered, a complete circle around us. Pushing us even closer together. They didn’t say or do anything these, they just watched us.

 

Forcing myself to look up at them, I got a shock. Sadness and sorrow was all over their pretty faces. I felt confused. I didn’t know what to think. The only thing I knew was that everything I’d been told was wrong!

 

“Help!” the fairy closest to me pleaded, a plea I couldn’t resist. Against better judgement, I stood up, “What can I do?” I asked, ignoring my companions’ aghast cries, and entering something I had no idea what was. It was the start of something strange, wonderful and terrifying, but I had no idea.

 

 I know this is like super crazy and stupid, but I wrote it up late last night when I couldn't sleep. In the morning when I looked back on it, I thought it was kinda cool, so I decided to publish it. It's very different from any bit of writing I've ever shared here before, but I hope you like it! BTW, the name is just a working one. If anyone has a better name for it, please tell me.

 -Kat

I Try To Mix It Up a Bit + Lot's of Answers

So, I have a lot to cram into one post today, I'll just jump into it and not waffle around.

Firstly, Jollygirl @ Reflections of a Jollygirl is holding a blog party for her first blog anniversary.

Questions:

1.How did you come up with the name of your blog?
OK, so I think that my name states just about all you need to know. Very knows I'm almost completely mad, so that became my name!

2.Favorite party snack? Why?
Um, I don't actually go to parties! *kind of embarrassing* I have no idea what my favourite snack would be. But let's just say  that if it has chocolate in it, then I want it.

3.What type of chocolate is your favorite? Milk, dark, white, or other?
Dark. I have a thing for dark, but for something sweet, rocky road. Is there anything else to say? They're awesome.

4.Describe your favorite memory?
I'm not too sure I have one. But I do have a lot of fun memories from when I was little. My brothers and I used to spend heaps of time over at our cousins'. We used to play all these games, like soccer with boys against girls, or hide and seek with heaps of seekers and one hider. None of the games were very fair!

5. What is your favorite post that I have published on this blog?
Blogging: 5 Tips About Blog Designing

Thanks for letting me join in Jollygirl. Sorry if I was brief, but it's a double post, so I have to be quick so people don't get bored!

Ok, so part TWO of this post is the Infinity Dreams Blog Award. Yup! Thanks Outrageous Glamour @ The Night Writer's Diary for the tag. Ok, here I go.

 



The rules Thank and Follow the bog that nominated you
Tell us 11 facts about you
Answers the questions that were set up for you
Nominate 11 and make questions for them

The eleven facts
I'm working on a few special improvements for this blog which will come out soon.
I'm trying to visit more blogs that I don't follow
My middle name is Grace
I'm a Catholic
I'm not sure about my blog design
Chocolate is my BFF
I'm almost mad
My favourite movie is Beauty and the Beast
I'm a runner
I'm thinking about getting more videos for my YouTube channel
I love Vegemite

1. Have you ever stayed up all night?
Um yes. I do it once every single year. Midnight mass! But besides that, no.

 2. What is your favorite book?
No fair! Ask anything else, but not this question. Please?!

3. What is your favorite word?
Raxacoricofallapatorius, Fantastic, it's a fight between them. Hey! I'm a Whovian.

4. What word do you hate the most?
Dork, it doesn't quite mean what you think it does.

5.Favorite super hero?
Hulk, no question

6.Have you ever been stung by a bee?
Yep! I wanted a bee collection, but when I caught the bee it stung me.

7.Your worst pet peeve?
Not sure. I don't really have no I guess.

 8.Favorite TV show when you were a child?
I didn't watch TV. Only DVDs. So no answer. I do like Doctor Who now though!

 9.Favorite day of the week?
Saturday. A day to relax. Comes after the busy week. Sunday because of it being the lord's day. Tie.

 10. Can you cut shapes?
I guess...?

 11.Favorite snack?
Chocolate and tea.

Thanks so much again for the tag. It was a lot of fun.

I hope you enjoyed this post. You might have realised I tried to write it like I used to write my old posts for a bit of a mix up. Everything can't be serious, REMEBER THAT!!! On another note I'm hoping to contact the people who said they'd like to be interviewed in my survey soon. Look out for that! P.S that is me in the photo up top. I've never shared one of me before, I'm so scared!!!

 -Kat

I'm Book Crazy Again | Reviw: The Seer and the Sword

Blurb: Legend states that there exists a mighty sword that makes its possessor invincible to his enemies. But there is a curse on anyone who lifts the sword for conquest. King Kareed of Archeld goes after this sword anyway, winning it from the King of Bellandra. When he returns home from battle, he brings his daughter, Princess Torina, two special gifts. One is a unique crystal, in which she can view visions of the future. The other gift is the defeated king’s son Landen, who is to be her slave. Torina immediately releases Landen, who becomes a member of the King’s army and her close friend.

But trouble is lurking in the kingdom of Archeld and people are accusing Landen of plotting against the King. Torina refuses to believe he would hurt her family. Then Torina begins seeing deadly visions in her crystal. Can she save her father’s life and the future of her kingdom? via Goodreads

Romance: 4 out of 5 | It's a romance for goodness sake, but honestly, nothing too bad.

Violence:  4 out of 5 | There is lot's of fighting. Everyone fights, but it's all good. Nothing that you'd want to cover people's eyes for!

Language: 1 out of 5 |  I can't remember any, but some might have slipped passed. The worst would have been very light.

Age: 8+ | Great for most ages.

Rating: 5 out of 5 | I love this book!

My Thoughts: This book was thrilling and awe-inspiring. The characters were great, you could feel them and understand what they thought and felt.

I was smiling the whole way through this book. I am definitely going to read this one again!

Thanks for the recommendation on your blog Imogen. I really enjoyed this book!

So, I'm thinking about posting more book reviews over on this blog. If you like that idea, please tell me and I'll make sure to do it. Thanks for reading.

 -Kat

Guest Poster: Vellvin | The Thief Lord

Everyone, please welcome another guest poster and guess what?! She's written an amazing book review.

 Hey everyone. My name's Vellvin. I'm from over at 'An Irish Maiden' and today I'm guest-posting for Kat. It's my first time ever! Thank you, Kat for giving me this opportunity! :) And onto the actual post.

So this wasn't my original or my second original idea for a guest post, at all. This is actually the third. But anyway here it is. I hope you like it. :)

Cornelia Funke is one of my all time favourite authors. Seriously, the way she molds her writing is just amazing! It would be awesome to craft words the way she does.

Cornelia Funke probably is most well known for her trilogy of books set in the Inkworld called 'The Inkheart Trilogy' and even though they are great books, (totally recommend them) I'm actually going to talk about her stand-alone novel called 'The Thief Lord'.


I first saw the movie of 'The Thief Lord but let me assure you, the book is way better!

The synopsis/rundown of the novel:

'Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling canals and misty alleyways shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy with a dark history of his own: He calls himself the Thief Lord. Prosper and Bo relish their new "family" and life of petty crime. But their cruel aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the boys' freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.'


Or in the author's own words:

'It is about a gang of homeless children who live their lives without adults. Their home is a deserted cinema in the heart of Venice. It is also about their leader, Scipio, who calls himself The Thief Lord. And it is about two brothers who, after their mother's death, have run away from Hamburg to escape their horrible aunt and uncle. Esther and Max Hartlieb want to adopt sweet little Bo and send Prosper to a boarding school. And so the story ends up also being about Victor, a private detective, who is hired by the Hartliebs to find the boys. And about Victor's tortoises, the mysterious Conte, a wooden lion's wing, a crook who dyes his beard red – and it is about a forbidden island. 


CHARACTERS WHICH I WANT TO MENTION:

I'll start with Scipio. When you first meet them, Scipio is a smart, arrogant boy but I always feel sorry for him when I get to chapter twenty-four. Why didn't he tell them?????????? WHY??? Scipio is by far one of my favourtie characters. :)

Prosper is a responsible older brother, who is scared of losing his little brother, he tends to stress a bit, but that in itself is well founded and I love how much he cares for Bo.

Bo(Boniface), is an adorable little-five-year who believes that his big brother can make anything better. And that he'll always look after him. Doesn't that just show how adorable he is? He also very friendly. Perhaps overly friendly, which is how he met the supposed pigeon feeder at St. Mark's Square, by the name of Victor.

Victor is actually the bumbling detective (from the synopsis) after the brother's who is hired by their aunt to find them. Or more importantly Bo. She couldn't care less about Prosper! I tend to listen to The Thief Lord more than I read it, because it is more convenient and Victor is probably my favourite point of view. The way he describes things makes me smile.

Now, the other characters I haven't mentioned? Oh yes, there's Ida Spavento a photo-taking, cigarette-smoking lady with a taste for adventure. So when children break into your house you naturally sit up with them for the rest of the night and discuss their situation. She has a heart of gold and helps the children. I can't say more because I'll probably end up ruining the story.

Who else is on the list? Uh, yeah. I suppose I should mention the rest of the gang. Hornet, a voracious reader, Riccio a petty pickpocket with bad teeth. And Mosca, who loves ships and anything to do with the sea. That's the gang, and then there's the characters which I guarantee you'll find either irritating or just plain horrible: Barbarossa and the Hartliebs. I can't stand Esther Hartlieb she is so horrible! And Barbarossa is a real crook! I mustn't forget the Conte but he's not really that despicable, just a little creepy. :)

IN SHORT:

I just love this book. Every time I re-read it, or flick through it, or listen to it, I remember why I love it. And you should really read it if you are looking for an adventure with a twist on time. :)

I'm sorry if this post is somewhat fast, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. :)

Thank you Kat for letting me guest post it's been awesome! :)

Vellvin is a passionate Catholic from Australia where she lives with her huge family of five sisters and six brothers. She loves to read, sew skirts, quote movies, watch TV shows and most importantly blog. You can find her over at her amazing blog, An Irish Maiden.

Thanks so much Vellvin for posting for me. I'm going to have to read this book. I've read the first Inkworld book and got enjoyed it, but I got stuck in the middle of the second. I'll have to try and again and this book. Thanks for the recommendation. Also, I should be back tomorrow with a post of my own! I'm starting to feel better finally.

 -Kat

I'm Screaming My Head Off With Excitement

Well, time has flown. Gosh! Where is everything going? Ok, so I haven't been blogging for a few days. I seem to have developed a terrible tummy bug, so sorry. Just as I think it's clearing up it seems to come back.

I haven't been in the mood to write or even do anything other than lye in bed and dye. To make it worse it's really muggy at the moment.

But anyway, I don't want to fill this whole post up with moaning as I normally do, so I'll leave at this. I have another post coming up with some more about this (oh brilliant).

Actually, I've forced myself to the computer to say thank you to everyone who has followed my blog and read my posts!

Just this morning I found out that I passed 80 followers! Wow, that's huge. I know this isn't normally one of the big celebrated goals, but to me, 80 is massive.

When I started my blog, I never thought I'd even have one reader and now I'm here with 80 followers.  Gosh I'm so amazed. I've had the best time on this blog. I've learnt so much, made so many friends and blogging is now a huge part of my life.

Thank you for giving me all this and more!

Hopefully I'll be better soon and can write a proper post, not this boring old thing. Sorry about how short this is.

-Kat 

What is Love? What is Counted as Love?

 

Sorry if I becomes really hard to understand in this post, but the problem is that I stayed up really late last night and now I've been dozing over everything, so sorry!

 

Anyhow, let's get into what I really want to talk about, love or more importantly what love is today. Because I personally feel that the true meaning of love is getting lost.

Love seems like something that no one takes seriously anymore. There are heaps of jokes and laughter about people in love. Which is all kind of sad, but to make this worse, love has turned into a game.

I remember when I was little and I used to curl up in a corner reading about love and thinking about how perfect it was. How powerful it was. I had no idea about what the world was turning it into back then. I just thought of it as a part of a fairy tale in the real world!

But now that I’m older, I look around the people around me and everything has changed. Love is all about getting the best boyfriend, dumping him when someone better comes long, giggling behind hands at other people.

When did this happen?! None of these things involve the real love? It’s kind of sad that this is the way the world is.

 People as young as fifteen or younger are getting boyfriends, dating. They truly can’t understand what they’re really doing. I’m fifteen and I don’t feel ready for boyfriends and love. I feel I still have a lot to learn and that I’m not mature enough for this.

I wonder why people think the way they do. What makes them think that having a boyfriend is the ‘done’ thing? What happened about love? Where did all that go?

 

Will they regret it all in the future? When they're older, married and have children, have true love, will they regret everything that they did? Was it worth it? Teen romances hardly ever last.

 This is my view, the view of a young, teen who is very inexperienced and knows nothing about the ways of the heart. This is what I think. Feel free to disagree, I don’t mind.

So what do you think? Is the word ‘love’ mocked nowadays? Has the meaning kind of been lost?

 

This was deep, sorry! I have no idea what's happened to me. I promised, I'm NOT getting serious. I'm still ol' mad Kat. Hehehe, today's I'll get around to something light and fluffy again *I hope*.

 -Kat

#REPOSTED

Recently, my friend, Emily from Lynde Avenue, created this kind of 'tag' so that you can share some of your old post and share them! So today, that's what I'm doing. click HERE to find out more about it.

WRITING
Heart Broken

My heart throbs. I feel like I will never feel anything good ever again.

I scream, a scream of heart break. I burry my face into my pillow.

Part of me is...

 

Siblings

Sure you tease me,

Ruin all my favourite movies,

So what if you listen to rubbish music?

Yes, you love to...

 

I Want To Know The Real You

Be yourself, that's who I wanted to know.

If I wanted to talk to that popular girl,

Then I wouldn't be...

Tech

When did we start relying on tech so much?

I remember a time when I didn't have any!

But all that's changed now, so changed.

No one spends a day without

ME
Are You My Best Friend?
I found this over on Cathy's blog. She said to feel free to do this, so that's what I'm doing:)
First name: Katarina
Middle Name: Grace

Last name: Joyce

Nicknames: Kat, Vamps

Favourite Colour: green...

20 Things You Might Not Know About Me Blog Tag
Question 1: How tall are you? Well this is rather embarrassing, but I have no idea! I'm not tall though.
Question 2: Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?
Um, maybe music. I also like photography!
Question 3: What’s your biggest blog-related pet peeve?
Please don't take offence, but blogs have custom cursors.
Question 4: What’s your biggest...

BLOGGING
How To Take a Good Blogging Break
I don't know about you, but I'm frankly scared of taking a blogging break, just in case I happen to loose readers, not be able to get back into writing properly and many other reasons.
So today, I thought I would share with you some tips for taking a great blogging break and getting back ...

Top Four Blogging Tips to Get Readers
So many new bloggers go, 'I wish I has more readers. I've written a post, why is no one commenting?'. It's kind of a bit silly. They don't seem to realise that there is more that they have to do to get people interested.
You can't just go 'I've got a post, I will just sit back and wait for readers'. Now I don't have a big blog, so I can't really say how to get popular and huge, but I can tell you a few...

OTHER
My Top Five Places to Find Inspiration
Inspiration is one thing that always bugs me. Every few days I need a new idea for a new blog post and after a little while, the inspiration just stops flowing!
So today, I decided to put together my top five places to get inspiration...

Is Your Faith Something to Hide or Be Proud of?
Do you ever think that no one really wants to talk about their religion. It's something that people seem to be really afraid to talk about. They're afraid of being judged for it.
I've always admired those people who go straight out and talk about...

The Ins and Outs of Being Short | Can You Relate?
Most of you have probably worked out that I'm short. I've mentioned it in a couple of posts, but I don't think I've ever made a huge thing about it.
Today I thought I would do what I do best, ramble about being short. Because there is a lot to say about your height.
One of the biggest problems about being short is not being able...

Enjoy rereading these posts! Thanks Emily for creating this tag. It's a great help.

I might be a little bit busy of the next few days as I'm in the process of setting up a share blog with my good friend, Bryleigh. So be warned!

 -Kat

How to Centre Anything in CSS

I can't profess to know much about coding. I don't know much about anything in blog design, but while playing around, there are a few simple CSS codes I've learnt that I'd like to share with you!

 

Log in to your Blogger blog, go to Template > Customize > Advanced > Add CSS

Header Image:

#header-inner img {margin: 0 auto;}

Header Title And Descprition (text):
#header-inner {text-align: center;}

 Pages:
.PageList {text-align:center !important;}
.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}

Post Titles:
.post-title {text-align:center;}

Post Dates:
.date-header {text-align:center;}

Sidebars:
.main-inner .column-left-inner, .main-inner .column-right-inner {text-align: center;}

Gadget Titles:
.section-columns h2, #sidebar-right-1 h2, #sidebar-left-1 {text-align: center;}

I really hope this helps you with any centring coding problems you might have. Yes it's basic, but it's effective. You can change the whole look of your blog, just by centring things!

On another, thank you to everyone who answer my survey, if you haven't done it yet, click HERE do to so! I look forward to your answers.

 -Kat

What I Believe Living Life to It's Full Really Means

Sometimes we worry too much about what other people will think of us. We're afraid to be ourselves because other are watching, but hey! That's all wrong, this is your life, live it to the full.

Quite a lot of people have the feeling that living your life to the full means doing something every second of the day. Running around 24/7, doing the most that you can, but the truth is, that's all wrong!

For me, living your life to it's full is all about smiling at everything that comes your way, enjoying everything you do, being yourself. It's about taking risks and benefiting from those risks.

Living life to it's full isn't about doing more, but doing what we do with strong faith, with a better attitude, with more fun.

You don't have to run around to live life properly, you can have slow days and you can have busy days, but that doesn't mean either is better. You lean from both.

If you're going to be busy, busy, busy, you must have those peaceful days to relax from all that. How can you enjoy something if you're bone weary?
I personally believe that living life to it's full is about doing what God wants, listening to what others have to say, practising my hobbies, enjoying life.

How I got into this post, I have no idea. It just sort of happened. I saw I quote on Goodreads and it sparked something in me, then I just wrote. This is what came out!

If you haven't seen my survey, please pop on over at take a look. I'd love to see your answers!

 -Kat

January Magic

The sun shines on my skin. Blisters burn on my bare feet, reminding me that I should be wearing shoes.

The 40 degree heat is sweltering, but nothing is stopping me from mucking around outside. January is the month to be wild in!

An ice cream starts melting before I can take my first bite, it dribbles down my arm. I lie back to enjoy the refreshing coolness.

Night comes, but sleep stays away, leaving me lying in bed, hot and uncomfortable. I creep out of bed, seeking a cool drink before trying to sleep again.

The pool beckons, calling me into it's cool embrace. I spend hours splashing and playing around with friends, enjoying life and sunshine.

Late nights are spent roaming the streets with friends, fizzy drinks in hand. People laugh, jokes are made, friendships hardened. Times to be remembered forever.

This is my entry for Yasmine's Winter Wonderland Challenge. Ok so this doesn't really go with the theme and you might be wondering why on earth I've written this. But the theme is to write about January, and this is what January is like for me! I hope you enjoyed. Also, I'm not really doing this challenge anymore, I've skipped a few. You see I had to drop out due to Christmas, my aunt dying (I really miss her) and many other things, but Yasmine, I hope you enjoyed this!

Also, could I just thank everyone who answered my survey. I'm having a great time reading your answers. Everyone has been so nice! If you haven't seen/answered my survey, please click over HERE to do so!

 -Kat

Survey

via

Recently, everyone has been taking surveys over on their blogs to find out what people want to read and what they think of their blogs.

I personally think this is a brilliant idea. It's a way to find out what people like most about you, your blog and what they'd like you to change.

Normally though, I don't like to follow trends. For some reason I never do, but this once, I am going to. I'm creating a survey to find out more about my own blog!

New Year seems like a great time to be making changes to my blog, so I'm going to be using the results from the survey to change things over the next year.

I hope you pop on over to IT. I can't wait to find out what you think.

This is short, but needed. I feel this blog is far from perfect and so anything I can do to make it better would be  great:) P.S there is no reason for the picture, I just love it!

-Kat

How I Reply to Comments

A while ago, I promised a post on how to make time to reply to all those comments you get. For some reason, I seem to be putting this off, but here I am, finally with this post! I hope it helps you.

Make a certain time of the day for answering comments. For me just after breakfast while I'm waiting for Leo to finished using the bathroom so I can go in is a great time to answer some of those comments. Just think about which part of the day you're sitting around doing nothing, and put it to good use.

Use those scraps of time. Ok, so there is plenty of time in the day that could be used to better use. Think about those tiny scraps of time that you're not doing anything. You could answer some comments while waiting for the pasta to boil, while you're waiting for everyone to arrive to watch a movie or even when having your morning cup of tea.

There is so much time that we don't even use. We don't think about it as time really, just a period where we wait. If we used this time, we'd realise, just how much time there is in the day!

Read your comments ahead of time. I like to read my comments ahead of time. Just read them thoroughly and enjoy them. Then I leave them to simmer. I think about what people have said and a think about what I could say in return.

This helps you have a basic idea of what to say in reply, truly enjoy a comment and speeds up the replying when you come to it. Remember, you can do other things while you think, but you can't while writing the comment.

Not all replies have to be long. Ok, this may sound mean, but you don't have to write a super long reply to every comment. Just make sure your reply is a good one, that it means something.

Short comments like 'Love this post,' can be replied to with a short answer like, 'Thank you for visiting my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed it.' Though it might not seem interesting, at least the readers know you've read their comment.

Replying to comments comes first. I know a lot of bloggers struggle with replying to the comments they've been given long with all the blogs they want to leave a comment on themselves.

While I definitely think that leaving your own comments is important, replying to the ones you've been given is even more so.

What I like to do is create an order for answering and leaving comments in. First I answer the comments I've been given, then I leave my own comments on the blogs I follow, then I go and comment on the blogs of everyone who left me a comment.

This way I get everything done, I know what I have to do, and if I run out of time, I've gotten the most important bit out of the way. Remember, you can leave a comment at any time, but you can't pick when your readers will look for a reply.'

Those are my FIVE tips on how to make time to answer those comments. I hope this helps and really didn't mean to sound like I was preaching, if I did, I'm sorry. I'm feeling really weird at the moment!

Most of my posts at the moment seem to be all really short, really boring, or long and preachy. Which I'm really sorry about. It's mainly because I'm not sleeping very well at the moment. So sorry this content is rubbish at the moment, but I hope you at least got something out of this post!

 -Kat

Being Quiet Doesn't Mean You Don't Speak

I'm the person who likes to be ignored, who shies away from getting noticed. She would rather spend her whole life in her room rather than make a scene.

I'm afraid of what people will think. I've got the idea people find me annoying. I'm scared to hear people talking of me, in case of what I find out.

I'm the girl with no voice. The one who'll never be anyone or anything. The person who ends up living an ordinary life without a single excitement.

But deep down, that's all a lie, because somewhere, deep in the internet, I matter! I have a life, friends and ideas. I have fun and laughs and joy.

Because there I feel free to talk, tell the world who I am. Speak my views and show the world what we can really be.

Sometimes, it's the quiet ones that do the most. And just you remember that being popular doesn't mean your right, being famous doesn't mean you're helping the world, being quiet doesn't mean you don't speak!

Away from the blogging world, I'm considered a shy girl. I'll go out of my way to avoid people. I don't know how to socialise like everyone else. I'm afraid. But here, I don't feel like that, I feel free! And that's the best feeling on earth.

This piece sort of flowed out of me. It speaks to me as nothing I've ever written before has. I've been thinking on it for so long, wanting it to be perfect. It's by no means that, but I hope that you can at least relate to it! Please know I don't mean offence and I don't mean to tell you the world is bad. This is just how I feel and I'm just saying it in hope it will help you. Sorry this is all really sappy today, maybe I should stop talking (you can tell when I haven't had enough sleep), so see ya'll later!

 -Kat

One Sentace Story #4

via

Give it everything you have!

 

-Kat

Welcome 2015 | A Glimps Into What We Do

Welcome new year, welcome new goals, welcome a new chance to get it right!

For me, January is all about trying again, starting over, wiping the slate clean and starting over again. Yes I made plenty of mistakes in 2014, but it's time to move on and try again. Start again!

Today I decided that I'd share a few of me and my family's New Year traditions.

Going to confession on New Year's eve. As you properly know, I'm a Catholic, so for me it's seems only fitting to go and confess my sins on the eve of the new so I can start the new year with a clean soul!

Going to Mass of New Year's day. This is another thing that's religion related. For me there is nothing better than getting up early New Year's morning and heading off to Mass to start the new year.

Having a feast! What's better than a day full of eating. In our house New Year's day is a huge celebration. So we make sure to spend the day relaxing and eat dinner together in the evening.

Sharing a movie together. I don't know when we started this habit, but for as many years as I can remember, we've bought a movie to watch together in the evening of New Year's day. There isn't really a theme to what we watch, it just has to be something we've never seen before.

Those are just as few of our traditions, what are yours? Do you do any of these things?

Is it just me, or is New Year's Day one of the most magical days of the year? It seems to spell out new hope and good luck. I can't wait to see what this new year of blogging will bring!

-Kat