Let's Go Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!

Everything I've written about Christmas so far seems to be me complaining about things being so busy and not having enough time, but the thing is, Christmas is much more than that! It's special, it's Jesus's birth, and sometime it's too easy to forget this.

Today, I've decided to help myself remember this by posting seven way to get into the Christmas mood!

1. Turn on that music! There is nothing like a bit of Christmas music to get yourself in 'the mood'. For me, classic carols normally does the trick. There is nothing like those old pieces like 'Away in a Manger'.

Even if you don't have any CDs, you can always call upon the trusty old internet to give you something to listen to. Some great places to go are Grooveshark and YouTube.

And if you don't know any good musicians, here are a few who I love: Peter Hollens, Taylor Davis and Piano Guys.

2. Pull out those crafty supplies. Try some Christmas craft. Make some presents, decorations, anything. There is nothing like a bit of Christmas craft to get you excited for Christmas, trust me.

My favourite Christmas crafts involve, making angel Christmas tree decorations out of tissues (yes, very sophisticated, I know), salt dough Christmas trees (anyone else done this?) and painted boxes (to be filled with chocolates as a present).

3. Put on your baker's hat. Everyone likes Christmas food, but not all of it has to be bought. Why not try making some of your own this year?

I love going online and finding new recipes. Just one thing though, has anyone ever had success with ginger bread? Is it just me is there no way to cook it without it going really hard or being under cooked? Why do I try to make this every year?

4. Go shopping. Yes, I'm encouraging you to go shopping and spend money! But, remember, those presents have to be bought sometime or another. Why not now?

I don't normally like shopping to tell the truth, but with Christmas presents, it's another matter. There's something nice about walking around those isles, trying to find the perfect present for someone.

Not being very crafty, I end up buying most of my presents, but I do like to try and make them really cool and something they'd really enjoy. Most of all, something different!

5. Wrap those presents. Once you've got all your presents, there's nothing to stop you from wrapping them up. Getting it out of the way earlier rather than later makes sure you're not doing on Christmas Eve like me.

If you want to be really adventurous (and crafty), why don't you even try to make your own wrapping paper. This gives you two things to do in one!

6. Decorate the house. Every house needs some kind of decoration. Why don't you put that tree up? Is that wreath just dying to be on the door? Come on, put some effort into how your house looks at Christmas.

I'm not normally very good at this. I don't have the eye for this sort of this, but it's lot's of fun to do, so long as you don't leave it till the last moment (yes, I'm always doing that).

7. Sing those carols. Let's start and finish with music. If you are a brilliant singer, or plain horrible, get those carol books out and start singing. This is sure to make you SMILE.

And if you're really brave, why don't you even try a little bit of busking? Busking is a great way of getting a few extra dollars to spend on Christmas.

But better than that, it's so much fun and it's really Christmassy!

There you have it, my seven ways to get in the Christmas spirit. I hope you try at least a few of these out.

Also, I'm looking for guest bloggers over the Christmas holidays. So if you'd be interested, or would like a little bit of free advertising, then please email me: almostcompletelymad@gmail.com. I'd also be willing to guest post back on your blog. So just give me an email!

-Kat 

What's My Style in Winter?

Today I'm linking up to Yasmine's Winter Wonderland Challenge. This test today is to express your winter style.

It being summer here, I had to do this all online, not being able to dress up myself, but I hope that's ok.

 

As most of you know, I'm a geek and this jumper completely sums that up. I've always loved Darth Vader. If I could get this shirt in real life, I'd be more than happy.

I'm a really comfy sort of person, so I decided to go with jeans. Because it's not often you can go wrong with a pair of them in winter.

Hey, does anyone know where I can get that bag? It's so perfect. An Alice in Wonderland book bag. That's so cool.

Yup, total geek over here.

Now I'd team all this with a  ponytail (I'm boring) and no makeup. Because honestly I've never worn makeup in my life and I'd have no idea how to do it. But to mix it up, I might try a sock bun if I could work it out.

And there you are. Note to Yasmine: Sorry this took so long!

I'm looking for guest bloggers over the holidays, so if you're interest, please email me: almostcompletelymad@gmail.com. I'd also be willing to guest post on your blog or be interviewed, if you'd like that. Just leave me an email and I'll get back to you as fast as I can.

 -Kat

Time to Get Replying to Those Comments!

Recently my posts just haven't been coming out properly. I start a post, but I never end up finishing it. They always seem silly or boring. But today I'm going to try getting this out, because it seems really important to me.

So without farther ado...FIVE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD REPLY TO YOUR COMMENTS.

It let's people you read and acknowledged what they said. This I think is really important. They spent the time to write those comments and leave you some feedback, the least you can do is say thank you. It makes people feel like their comments mean something to you when you reply.

Replying helps you get to know your readers. Who knows, maybe you will start a conversation with someone in the comments. You might even make a new friend. And making friends is what blogging is all about, remember.

People are more likely to leave a comment if you reply. Everyone loves getting comments, but when there is no way to know that you're reading the comments they're more likely to just leave. Which none of us want to happen!

I've also noticed that people are less likely to read a blog with someone who doesn't reply. Because it looks like the author is only writing for themselves and doesn't care if anyone reads.

Replying makes you more likely to read the comments properly. Admit it, all too often we just skim the comments we get given, but if we have to reply, we tend to read the comments properly, seeking out things to say back.

You learn a lot about how a post went down. I don't know about you, but when I strike up a conversation in the comments, most of the time I end up finding out what people really think about my posts. What I could do better and what people like most?

This is a great way to learn what to do better in the future and make your blog even better! Everyone wants that, right?

Well those are my FIVE reasons, there are many more, but these are just five of them. If you have anything to add, please tell me!
I know replying is hard work (especially for you popular bloggers out there), but it's really worth it. You can learn a lot from just replying to comments.

But on this note, I'm also planning on writing a post on 'How to Make Time to Reply to Comments', so look out for that.

And to clear things up, this is not directed at anyone! I'm not pointing fingers, this is just my views. If you don't reply to comments, that's fine. There's nothing to be ashamed of! These are just my thoughts for my blog, things might be different on yours.

-Kat

Come All Yee Bookish Ones!

Today, I'm getting deep. In November, Blood of Olympus came out and of course, I just had to get it. After putting off reading it due to mixed feelings about House of Hades and many other books just begging to be read, I finally picked it up and got on with it.

In this post I've decided to do something I've never done before, I'm going to post a book review! Like WHAT?!

To start with, let's just mention the narrators!
One thing I love about Rick Riordan's books is that he always shows his books from several points of view. So you get to hear everyone's thought and feelings.

I think that Blood of Olympus's choice of narrators where especially awesome. Now Percy is amazing (in fact he's amazing), but we do get to see quite a lot of him. It's like he's always in the limelight, which is ok, but the team is rather big and it's nice to hear about the others.

But this book wasn't didn't have Percy as a narrator. I literally couldn't believe it! WHY NO PERCY?! I thought that being the last book they'd try to put the light on Percy, but they didn't.

Instead, Jason, Leo and Piper got to shine along with two really surprising people...Nicko and Reyna. I was pleasantly pleased with pick. I've always secretly wanted to know more about these two and it turns out that they're both really deep and deserve to be counted as part of the team.

Can we just take a moment for the planning that went into this book?
Some books you can just tell have had hours spent planning them. Blood of Olympus is one of those books. Everything about it worked like a clock work.

Things that most people would over look had been mentioned and put to good use. Which is really nice to see.

The characters, I just can't describe them.
I simply adore character with personalities and feelings! What's better is characters that you can relate to.

Leo is one of those character. I'm sure it's a well known fact that I simply adore Leo, but there's a reason.

One thing I like most about Leo is how he's always cheerful, but underneath he's suffering and worrying away. But unlike some characters I could mention, he doesn't ever moan about, in fact he does the opposite and tries to hide it from everyone else.

Also, the end. I can't believe that Leo was brave enough to do that. He knew full well what he was heading into and he just did it. Come on, how many characters can do that?

And Nikko, the way that he changed and matured was CRAZY! I couldn't believe how he got over Percy and moved on. He seemed to grow up.

What really surprised me though, is how his mood changed! Everyone knows him to be the really moody guy who doesn't like talking to anyone else, but this Nikko was so different thanks to Reyna. Seriously, that girl needs a gold medal!

I couldn't talk about these characters forever, they all were really deep, but let's move on!

The ending, let's talk about this!
Ok, I have mixed feelings about this. In some ways it was amazing, but in others it was really mean. Let me explain as best I can.

In the other books it did all this working up to Gaia and how she wouldn't be easy to defeat and they seemed to continue that in this book, but then at the end it changed!

It was almost like Rick Riordan couldn't decide how to write it or had a certain amount of words he wanted it to be.

Everything seemed rather rushed. After the first bit everything hurried up. The big battle didn't really seem that big anymore.

And can I just say, it didn't seem like it was that hard to beat Gaia. It seemed almost too easy, yes I know that 'HE' died, but come on, they could of played it out just a bit more.

But on the plus side, after the battle, everything seemed to be perfect. It was just how I like things to be. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter becoming friends was amazing. I can't just imagine that amount fun they'd get up to together. Can you imagine those games of Capture the Flag?

I liked how there were regrets, that everyone didn't just move on, forget which so often happens in these books. People seemed to suffer from the dead and be sad.

Also, Leo, can we just say how amazing he was at the end. No one could have done as much as him. I think he needs a silent moment.

Lastly, let's just talk Jason.
Jason's promise was so perfect. I hope he actually can finished off what Percy started. I think that this is amazing and also, can I just hope that this means that there will be more books with both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood? Maybe a new group of demi-gods evens.

Do you remember when Jason made the promise to finished the job off? And how it was under water? Wasn't it just so funny how Jason saved Percy when they were underwater? I just had to mention this because it was one of my favourite parts in the whole book.

Round off time!
My finally thoughts on this book are: AMAZING!!! The ending might have been a bit of a let down, but it was still totally worth the read..

I rate this book 5 out of 5. So if you haven't yet read it, go and go it...NOW!

Until next time,

-Kat