Way Back Wednesday is hopefully going to be a new segment here in which I blog about shows, movies, toys, books, from when I was younger. This means topics from the 80′s and 90′s. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!

Credited to weheartit

This first week we’ll cover my favorite show from when I was a little girl. Jem and the Holograms. I watched this show all the time. The entire season was just recently released on dvd.

Here is the summary from Retro Junk:

The show centers on Jem who is an upcoming rock star with her band The Holograms. Jem is also the alias of Jerrica Benton, the daughter of a music executive who after his death, should rightfully be in charge of the company Starlight music. Jem/Jerrica’s rival is the sneaky and evil Eric Raymond who is trying to control Starlight music and get Jerrica out of the picture. Eric creates a band called the Misfits who are supposedly rebellious rockers. With the help of a secret computer/hologram machine named synergy created by Jerrica’s father, Jerrica and her sister Kimber and their friends create Jem and the holograms to compete in popularity at the same music label. Of course, no one but the girls are in on all of this. Also in play is a never-resolved love story of Jerrica and her boyfriend Rio who just happens to be with Jem at the same time, but has no idea its the same girl. Jerrica has the ability to transform to Jem and back again through her magic earrings. Throughout the show the girls encounter many a sabotage plan, heartbreak and of course impossible dangers followed by even more impossible rescues. But it still remains one of the best 80′s cartoons ever!

Credited to weheartit

I wanted to be in the Holograms when I was little! So did all of my friends. Their songs were catchy and fun, and their clothes and makeup were ‘outrageous’. I loved Rio back then. (Of course, looking back it is annoying that he couldn’t choose between Jem and Jerrica. Especially since he didn’t know they were the same person. And Jerrica didn’t help either by trying to get together with him as both people.) However, the show was still great. It was improbable but so much fun! I was so disappointed when the show ended.

Credited to weheartit

Jem and the Holograms show had tons of merchandise out there. This included an entire line of dolls, playsets, books, games, and more. And I wanted it all. Luckily, Jem is back on tv on the Hub. So now, if you don’t want to buy the show on dvd you can still watch it on Saturdays. Did you guys watch this show? Do you watch it now?

I hope you enjoyed this post for Way Back Wednesday. If this becomes a regular feature here, I’d love to know if there is anything that you’d like to see me feature. (Well, as long as it’s something that I can recall from the 80′s and 90′s. lol)

1. The Nightmare Garden by Caitlin Kittredge – This is the sequel to ‘The Iron Thorn’, which was a really great read last year. It’s a combination steampunk, fantasy, dystopian, young-adult novel. I’ve recently been turned on to steampunk and dystopian novels, which seems to be the current trend. (I’m such a follower.)

2. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross – Yet another steampunk sequel. I loved the first book in this series, I think this may be the series that sealed by love of this genre. May is way too far away.

3. The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney – This is the sequel to ‘The Iron Queen’ which was a really good if short book. I hope this one is longer. This seems like it may be a great fantasy series.

4. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – The ‘Graceling’ series was a serious favorite of mine last year and I’ve been waiting for this book for a long, long time. I’ve loved the main characters of this series so much and I don’t think this book will disappoint me.

5. The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood – Is the third in a children’s series, but it’s so much fun! I found a review that describes the series perfectly, it’s ‘Sound of Music’ meets ‘The Series of Unfortunate Events’. It’s a funny read with some adorable characters.

6. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen – I’ve always loved Robin Hood, I think I’ve watched pretty much every movie or tv version that tells his story. This book talks about a possible love interest for him, not Maid Marien, but Scarlet, the main character. It looks to be a fun read for this year.

7. Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep – This is the third in the Mythos Academy series which I’m loving right now. I love anything to do with mythology so this series is right up my alley.

8. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami – I’ve been seeing a lot of this book online, especially on Goodreads. It’s grabbed my interest for sure. It’s not a new book, but I definitely plan to read this book before the year is out.

9. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson – Jack the Ripper. Need I say more? I love Maureen Johnson anyway, so this is definitely a must read for this year.

10. Ashfall by Mike Mullin – This is a post-apocalyptic novel about the aftermath of the explosion of a supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park. The main character is a teenage boy left alone for the weekend when the volcano erupts. He goes across the United States to find his family.

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope to make 2012 my best year yet and wish the same for you as well.

1. The Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking – I really loved this whole series. I love fantasy and paranormal books as much as anyone, but I’ve never read any books about trolls before or at least where they are the main characters. Amanda’s version of them is very unique and interesting. I loved all of the characters of the books and I really loved how the pairing you expect from the beginning of the book is not the one you end up with. It’s not as obvious as with other books you normally see.

2. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins – I don’t know why I waited so long to read the first book, I guess I was kind of worried that it wouldn’t live up to it’s hype. I was never really a big fan of dystopian or post-apocalyptic books before this year. However, I finally caved into the peer pressure and I was not disappointed. This first book was my favorite of the series but the last two were still great as well. I loved Katniss’ character and how she grew throughout the books. Bloody and graphic and just plain fun, I really enjoyed this series.

3. The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa – This series might be one of my favorites in the fantasy genre by far. I loved every single book in this series and all of the main characters so much! They all they their own quirks and you rooted for all them. It was meant to be a trilogy but the author decided to write a fourth book to really get more closure. I adored both Ash and Puck and it was really hard to pick which one I wanted to end up with the girl.

4. The Hollows Series by Amanda Hocking – I don’t really do zombies. I’ll read or watch vampires, werewolves, witches, etc. But zombies rub me the wrong way. Until this book. I don’t know how I got sucked into reading this book, but it’s probably because the main character, Remy, really kicks ass. This girl is amazing, she goes across the U.S. to save her brother and along the way kills zombies and manages to adopt a tiger. The sequel was great, too. I can’t wait until the additional books in the series come out.

5. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta – This books was beyond words. It was really a unique book and the first 50 pages were a bit confusing, but after that the books really sucks you in. It was in heartbreaking and in others really fun. Melina Marchetta has a really great way with words. I loved the way that the present story was so connected to the past, especially Taylor’s past. I really found myself wishing that there was more.

6. I am Legend by Richard Matheson – I was surprised by how much I really liked this book. The plot was very different from what I normally read and it was a very original take on vampire books. I really felt for the main character Robert Neville. He’s so alone in this world that has been taken over by vampires. You could really feel his loneliness and his determination to live. The ending was a surprise, too. This version of the book also had a selection of short stories in the back that I really enjoyed.

7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – I read this because of the good reviews on Goodreads. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and it took me a few pages to really get into it. But I loved the pacing of the book and the heart behind it. I really takes a while before you find out what is different about the kids in the school and the reason they were there, but when you find out you are horrified by the reasons and the nonchalance in which it is treated. The idyllic nature of the school is undermined by the fact that there is something very odd going on.

8. The Steampunk Detective by Darrell Pitt – This was year of the steampunk genre. I got really into it, especially recently. This was a book that was reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. I love the ideas of airships and steam powered engines. The main character, Jack, was born to a family of acrobats and becomes an assistant to a detective that is getting older. It was a lot of fun and it was great trying to figure out who was the bad guy.

9. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin – I loved the point of view of this book. The son writes a letter to his younger sister telling her of their abusive mother before they were able to get away from her. I love Matt’s voice, especially as he idolizes his mother’s boyfriend, since that relationship caused their mother to leave the kids alone and the man himself was so kind to them. The book was heartbreaking and yet inspirational.

10. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire – A lot of the reviews on Goodreads about this book describe it like a drug. And I totally agree with them. I could not put this down. Abby is originally shown as a goody goody but as the book goes on you see that she was more to her than she likes to show. Travis is a great character to me, although there are some disturbing instances with him. His personality is obsessive and addictive. He’s the type of guy you would stay away from in real life, but you secretly would love to get with even though you know he’s soooo bad for you. This book did not show a healthy relationship but it was so addictive I could not stop reading it.

November is over and done with. There were ups and downs and magic abound. First and foremost, again I utterly failed at NaNoWriMo. November has to be the worst time of year for me to try to write a novel. I had my birthday and I went on a trip. Oh, well. Maybe next year. I don’t plan to stop trying anytime soon. I came back with some great souvenirs from my trip though. Including the wand shown above. It was the wand that was recommended for my birthday and it’s made from reed.

2011 Reading Challenge

Valerie has

completed her goal of reading 100 books in 2011!

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102 of 100 (102%)

view books

On the other hand, I’ve finished my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I set a goal to read 100 before the end of the year and I’ve actually surpassed it. I thought I would make it, but I didn’t think I’d do it this soon. I can’t wait to see how many I’ll have read by the end fo the year all together.

Next, we got a dog! Her name is Oreo and she’s a pure-blooded German Shepherd puppy. Isn’t she so cute? We’re all still adjusting because we haven’t had a dog in years. lol After the New Year we plan to put her in obedience classes at either PetSmart or Petco. I’m actually kind of excited! I love the idea of being able to take a dog into a store. lol She’s growing so fast it’s ridiculous. It seems like she’s twice as big as when we got her.

Credited to Pinterest

Christmas shopping is underway and I’m actually almost done! I only have two more people to shop for. Pretty much all of my shopping was and will be done online. I now really just have to wrap the presents that I already have and get those last few. Unlike past years, I’m enjoying having this done pretty early. I took advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and it was great. I got great prices on the gifts with minimal effort. Not having to rush and stress myself out is really nice. Hopefully I can keep this up in years to come.

Here are the questions I answered:
1. Name/Blog URL
2. Lefty/Righty/Ambidextrous
3. Letters you enjoy writing
4. Letters you dislike writing
5. Write “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
6. Write CRAB, HUMOR, KALEIDOSCOPE, PAJAMAS, and GAZILLION in caps.
7. Write one of your favorite song lyrics.
8. Write who should do this.
9. Any last blurb slash note

My handwriting isn’t that great, but it’s legible. Sorry for the blurriness. My iPhone was not being cooperative.

Hey, guys! I am back from my trip to Orlando and I’m wishing I was still there. To start with, I reserved the trip a few months ago through a deal I received in an email from Universal Orlando. It was a special deal for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure park. The deal included the hotel suite, two day tickets to the parks, early admission to Islands of Adventure, one blueray set of all of the Harry Potter movies, a set of commemorative pins, and City Walk passes. This was a great deal that I could not pass up! Especially at the price they were offering. I took my sister and we made a weekend trip of it.

We left on Thursday, the 10th, and drove down to Orlando to check into the hotel. We stayed at the Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando and the hotel was very nice. I was impressed with the room considering the cost of the trip. Our room overlooked the pool and was just lovely. Personally, I would stay there again. That night we ate out at Joe’s Crab Shack. I’ve never been since we don’t have one where we live and now I’m mad that we don’t. lol I loved it! The random dancing is kind of fun.

The next day we woke up early to go to Islands of Adventure. It was packed! Probably due to the fact that some cast members where there. I saw not one, but both of the Weasley Twins! And it was freezing there! It had to be 50 degrees. lol But I loved it. Most of the park was closed, only the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was open since it was around 7 am. We got on two of the rides, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogiffs. My sister has a weak stomach we decided not to touch the Dragon Challenge.

Then we shopped! I got my very own wand. Instead of getting one of the wands from a character I got one that was based on my birthday. When I saw it I absolutely loved it and couldn’t say no. I wanted some more souvenirs but those robes and scarves were so expensive! But I did get a cute mug from buying some Butter Beer. I also bought a bottle of Pumpkin Juice home. I haven’t drunk it yet. After all of this, we decided to walk the rest of the park. Part of this was to get away from the very, very, very crowded Harry Potter World and part since the rest of the park was opening up and I wanted to ride before it got too crowded. I finally got to ride the Incredible Hulk roller coaster after a bunch of missed opportunities in past years. It was great! The take off kind of freaked me out, but the ride was amazing. I went by myself of course but I still loved it. The guy manning the ride loved my Time Turner necklace.

So we rode the rides at the park and went back to Harry Potter later. We also had passes to a cast Q&A session which was very cool. It featured Katie Leung (Cho Chang), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas), Jessica Cave (Lavender Brown), Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan), and Dom Gleeson (Bill Weasley). Seamus was my favorite character out of all of them but the session was very interesting. I learned some new things, including the fact that Alfred’s mother is Brazilian. He speaks Portuguese beautifully. It was still around 2pm by the time we finished everything so we decided we still had time to shop in Orlando. So we left the park and went to the outlet mall. I managed to cross one person off my Christmas list by buying my brother a NorthFace jacket at 40% off. I could not pass by the deal, and of course I got one for me too. lol After shopping for a few hours we were tired and crashed at the hotel.

We got up later the next day since we were going to Universal Studios instead of Islands of Adventure. It was much less busy since everyone was at the other park. We got on every ride within like 5 or 10 minutes. I loved the Men In Black ride as well as The Mummy Inside roller coaster. We went to a few shows as well. Then we went shopping again! This time to the Florida Mall and it’s M&M World Store.

I absolutely loved this trip and honestly wish it had gone on longer. I was dreading coming back. My sister and I are in fact planning to have another trip as soon as we can. We want to try Disney World next time. We haven’t been since we were children and we really want to go back again to all of the parks.

Hey guys! I’m back from my trip! I actually came back Sunday night but I was so tired and had to unpack and everything. I still have to get all of my photos together so I can share my trip with you guys. I’m so excited really. I didn’t take enough pictures to really capture the whole trip, but I can say that I absolutely loved it! It was an amazing weekend that ended way too soon for me. The above photo is one that I took at Universal Studios. That globe came around perfectly! lol I had a lot of fun and got some great souvenirs. Check back for that soon!

I’m leaving tomorrow! I’m so excited for my trip down to Orlando and Islands of Adventure. I’ve been so busy trying to write as much as possible for NaNoWriMo (still behind) and packing for the trip. Of course, I left everything for the last minute. That’s not new at all. I’m going to try to take as many pictures as possible and share the best ones with you guys.

It’s officially begun! Of course I’m getting a late start, but let’s be honest here. I’m not really all that surprised. NaNoWriMo has started and for the entire month on November crazy people from all over are now attempting to write 50,000 words for a novel. We are insane!

Credited to weheartit

I’ve scrapped the steampunk theme, unfortunately. I left the planning too late this year and have no time to do any real research. Maybe next year. However, I do have the beginnings of a plot in my head just waiting to come out. So, I’ll probably just start writing and hope to God it’s understandable, much less good. Anyway, let’s all stop procrastinating and write!!