Alright so must I mention again, that I love nail polishes. Remember when I was thinking of starting my own nail polish line, but I was a broke college student and that didn't work out. But I don't know maybe I should revisit the idea. I found this Weekly Link-Up, which is the best thing ever.
Anyways, my nails have been bare for too long.. It was inspired by my lovely friend Pinterest: Pinspiration:
Reality: I decided to change it up, and instead of Pink, use Purple. I also added the Gold Polish for more pizzaz. My lines, though, are not the business. I must find a better, thinner brush. I didn't have any studs, so I opted for Gold Puffy Paint. lol. (where does a girl get these tiny studs??)
Nail Polishes Used:
Maybelline Color Show : 70 Bold Gold
Santee Nail Polish: 32 Black
Wet n Wild Megalast: 213C On a Trip
What are on your nails? What are your fave nail polishes?
I love listening to music!! Hearing beats, lyrics, melodies, love it!!
I must say this, I'm not a music expert. I just really love listening to music. My taste in music is pretty mainstream, Top 40, some R&B/Hip Hop, and Spanish Pop.
So here are the Top Five Seven songs that I'm personally loving right now!!! No particular order.
Zendaya - Replay
Why? I love how some of these Disney kids can come out of their Disney shells, not quite like Miley though. This song has Disney star, Zendaya looking fierce. Definitely reminding me of Cassie, Ciara, Rihanna. This song has been on replay!! :)
Fifth Harmony - Miss Movin' On
Why? I have been a fan of this group since they were on the X-factor last year. Their album comes out in the fall *fan-girl shriek* and this is their first single.
Enough of the pop-y songs.
Demi Lovato - Skyscraper
Why? Such a Demi fan. And this song just speaks to me. And even though its a couple years old, its still on replay!!
Justin Timberlake - Mirrors
Why? I love Justin, period. But I must admit I love this version just as much, if not a little bit more than the original. Check it out?
Jay Z - Holy Grail
Why? Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake = genius
Alejandro Fernandez - Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti
Why? This has been featured on a current telenovela as its main song. Every time I hear it, it's like I fall in love. Plus Christina's vocals, gahhh.
Lorde - Royals
Why? I got introduced to this song yesterday by one of my best friends. And I love it.
Its WEDNESDAY!! which means it's cooking time for me!!
My Chicken Alfredo Bake from last week was a success!! IT was so yummy. Definetely a must!!
Last week my dad mentioned that we wanted some meatballs with spafhetti.
I've made meatballs before, but decided to try something different. And again with the help of my very bestest friend Pinterest, heheh. I found a recipe for some Cheese Stuffed Meatballs!!! Check out the original recipe for my inspiration, Kelly Craves..
STUFFED MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI
Prep Time: 20 mins (pre-cooking) + 30 mins cooking (both pasta and meatballs) = 60 - 70 mins Servings: Depending. 2-4 Meatballs per person.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 large egg or 2 medium eggs
1 - 2 containers of Spagetthi Sauce (depending on your sauciness likes)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes __ I used packets of Pizza flakes. (hehe)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs of ground meat
16 cubed pieces of smoked mozzarella cheese (1/2 inch cubes)
1 packet of spaghetti pasta
Directions:
Chop and cut the Parsley and Garlic and Mozarrella Cheese if not cut
Next mix Parsley, Garlic, Parmesan Cheese, Bread Crumbs, Eggs, 2 tablespoons of sauce, Pepper Flakes, and salt and pepper in a bowl.
After mixing add the ground meat. don't be affraid to get dirty, mixing with your hands is better.
Start shaping the meatballs, making a hole in the middle. Grab a cube of mozarella cheese and stuff it in the hole and then re-shaping the meatball.( I was able to make 30 meatballs from about 2lbs.)
Place the meatballs, in a dish sligthly greased and add 1/3 cup of sauce to the bottom of the baking pan.
Bake the meatballs for 15-20 minutes under 400 degrees. (Had to make two batches)
Start boiling your pasta, and follow the package directions.
When the meatballs are done, place the meatballs in a pot and let them simmer in spagetthi sauce.
Add Spagetti sauce to your spagetti pasta.
Combine the meatballs and the pasta, or keep seperate. SERVE and ENJOY!!
Notes:
It was my second time using parsely ever.. It smells very good when chopping, and so I decided to put some extra. Ummm, bad idea, the meatballs tasted too much like it. For the second batch, I found myself picking at them to take some of it out.
We aren't that much of garlic fans so only used to cloves, but should of used 3, it would have given them a little extra kick.
Had to improvise when i ran out of bread crumbs, I crushed some croutons.
Not my favorite meatball taste, but they did taste yummy!!! :)
My first ever BOUT OF BOOKS is over!!! I knew that for me it was not going to be easy!!! But I did it!!!
I was suprised and so proud of all the participants that were able to accomplish their goals! Some were crazy (the good kinds of crazy) to read 19 books!! That's amazing!!
I had so much fun participating, not only reading, but also participating in the challenges, which were so cool!
My goals:
to read at least 1 book.
reading 2 books would be awesome.
I wanted to participate in some challenges!!
2 hours reading time during the week
1 hour reading time on Saturday and Sunday
And I accomplished them!!! Wooot!!
I finished:
And participated in 8 out 11 challenges!! Quick Facts (they were little but good enough for me)
Finished 2 books (one in spanish)
8 out 11 challenges participated in
411 pages read in total
Final Thoughts:
I accomplished my goals, which felt so good. But I would have loved to have read more. The Spanish book, took me a long time to finish, it is what killed my streak, but I loved it!!! I gave "Lock and Key" another chance, and couldn't put it down. I had fun, and I would love to participate in other read-a-thons in the future!! Until next one BOUT OF BOOKS!! :)
I'm determine to increase my book progress this year. And I've been reading about this Bout of Books Read-a-thon challenge, where you read as much as you can for a whole week. I decided to give it a try. TRY IT WITH ME!!!
This post will be a sticky post, so It will be up here all week, so you can check out my updates!!! Updates today MONDAY: ADDED SOME NEW GOALS!!!!
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team
I will be updating my progress on this post. So check back here all next week to see my progress!! ahh!
Time Devoted to Reading
My goal is to read 2 hours a day on weekdays.
On Saturday and Sunday at least 1 hour.
My Goals
My ultimate goal is to at least finish one book in that week. Since the beginning of the year it looks like I'm finishing 1 book per month or even two months. If I can read one book in this week, I will be so happy!! :) But 2 would be awesome
I really want to get into the bloggersphere. So I want to participate in some challenges and comment on some posts, and make some blogger friends. :) For challenges check here.
Books to Choose from
Want to finish "Ines del Alma Mia" if I haven't yet!
"A Clash of Kings" by George R.Martin
"Lock and Key" by Sarah Dessen (started but have not touched in months)
"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (started but have not touched in months)
Updates: (i will be updating my daily progress here from the night before.)
Monday -
What I've read today:I read "Ines del Alma Mia" by Isabel Allende
Total number of pages read today: 27
Total number of books completed: none (almost finished)
Total number of pages read:27 Read-a-thon thoughts: I was a little dissapointed in myself in how little I read, I think I could've done better. But being the first day and the first time I participate, I'll take it. I fell 30 minutes short of my goal time, but will be reading some more today!!! :) I did participate in both of the mini challenges which was fun!! :)
Favorite Quote:
"El traidor y yo alcanzamos a intercambiar una mirada y creo que en ella nos perdonamos los agravios del pasado" (page 232)
Mini Challenges: 2 out of 2 Sarah at Sarah Says Reads asked what was on our bookish bucket list that we wanted to do before we died.:
"But I think the thing I want to do is have a big library of books in my own home. THINK BEAUTY and THE BEAST LIBRARY, that is what I want. I want to be able to have a variety of books library, where my children and my grandchildren and greatgrandchildren can have any book available"
Nikki at Book Pairing wanted us to share the perfect pairing as we read:
Tuesday-
What I've read today: "Ines del Alma Mia" by Isabel Allende
Total number of pages read today: 47
Total number of books completed: none
total number of pages read: 74 Read-a-thon thoughts: Okay I did a little better than Monday, didn't get the results that I wanted, but I will try harder today (Wednesday). TV is killing me. hahha. I did reach my 2 hour goal, still need to make up the 30 minutes from Monday.
Favorite Quote:
" 'Y tu ¿que quieres, Pedro?' 'Fundar Chile contigo' respondio sin pensarlo dos veces. 'Entoces eso haremos.' 'Eso haremos, Ines del alma mia...' " (page 242)
Mini Challenges: 0 out of 1 - I didn't participate, it looked like fun though.
Wednesday -
What I've read today: "Ines del Alma Mia" by Isabel Allende
Total number of pages read today: 42
Total number of books completed: none
total number of pages read: 116
Read-a-thon thoughts: Gahhh.. Reading in Spanish is hard. I feel like I'm much slower, hahah, no wonder I'm not reading as much.. I must mention I am fluent in Spanish, but I find myself reading, translating the words to English in my head, and then internalizing the story, ain't nobody got time for that, can I just internalize it in Spanish. Still need to make up 30 minutes from Monday and 20 minutes from yesterday. The challenge was fun, I wasn't able to do the second challenge, but I wanted to.
Also Nikki at Book Pairing used my Pairathon picture on her blog. Woot!! I was all excited.
Favorite Quote:
"¿Como pude pasar en un minuto del dolor por haber sido abandonada a la felicidad de sentirme querida?" (page 296)
Mini Challenges: 1 out of 2
Jess at "Such a Novel Idea" asked us to come up with a Spine Poem from our books!! I must admit it was hard, I tried so many combinations, this one was the one that made sense. It was fun going through some of my books, must re-read some!!
"Ines del Alma Mia (Ines of my soul),
the woman warrior, the center of everything,
don't you forget about me,
P.S I love you"
Thursday
What I've read today: "Ines del Alma Mia" by Isabel Allende, "Lock and Key" by Sarah Dessen
Total number of pages read today: 38 + 5
Total number of books completed: 1
total number of pages read: 159
Read-a-thon thoughts: I finally finished "Ines del Alma Mia" woooot. And I decided to start on a book that I had previously started "Lock and Key," and never finished. I started reading it around 11pm, and my eyes were giving out on me, so I decided to just sleep, what a weak sauce. I must read more during the day and not at night, lol. Hopefully today I am more successful!!!!
Favorite quote:
"Entonces, al verme a solas con Pedro, senti que me latian las sienes y se me desbocaba el corazon pense que no seria capaz de sostener ls mirada de esos ojos azules, cuyos parpados habia besado a menudo cuando el dormia." (page 340-41)
Mini challenges: 1 out 2.
Stephanie at In Wonderland challenged us to come up with a Road-Trip list based on our books. Almost ran out of time.
New York - "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
Florida - "Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner (part of it was set there)
North Carolina - "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks (must read)
Ireland - "P.S I love you" by Cecilia Ahern
Spain - "Ines del alma mia" by Isabel Allende (part of it was set in spain)
Greece - "The sisterhood of the traveling pants" by Ann Brashares
Friday
What I've read today: "Lock and Key" by Sarah Dessen
Total number of pages read today: 148
Total number of books completed: 1 (100 pages to go for the 2nd one)
total number of pages read: 307
Read-a-thon thoughts: Wahhh so let me tell you that I was right, I was reading much slower when I was reading in Spanish. I read 148 pages of Lock and Key today, almost as much as I read in the last 4 days together. I read 3 hrs and 40 minutes, meet my time today and also met the time that I was missing from the other days. **Happy dance** So goal for weekdays = check. As for the book, I put it down a while back because I couldn't get into it, but I now I didn't want to put it down. Favorite Quote:
"In truth, though, then and now, the key wasn't just to that lock at the yellow house. It was to me, and the life I'd had before. Maybe I'd even begun to forget it a bit over the last few weeks.." (page 302)
Mini Challenges: 1 out of 1 Shaunie at The Space Between came up with some Book Mad-libs!!! I used to have books of Mad-Libs when I was younger. It was fun!! Here is mine: A. Place name or type. "Montana Sky" by Nora Roberts B. Fave Villain. "Dracula" by Bram Stoker C. Adjective - "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant. D. Number - "50 Shades of grey" by E.L James E. Noun - "Lock and Key" by Sarah Dessen F. Fave Hero/Heroine - Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins G. Dessert- "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel
Help! I'm being held captive in the Montana Sky, by Dracula! It is very Red here! He is demanding 50Lock and Keys to set me free! I have just discovered that Katniss was captured too! On second thought, please send Chocolates, and don't worry if you don't hear from us for awhile! Much Love,(Adri)
Saturday
What I've read today: "Lock and Key"
Total number of pages read today: 66
Total number of books completed: 2
total number of pages read: 373
Read-a-thon thoughts: Finished "Lock and Key," wooot wooot.. Although I want to anxious start on "Clash of Kings" I think I have to finish "The Time Traveler's Wife." This was another book that I started and didn't finish, I couldn't get into it, maybe because I watched the movie when it came out, the book never interested me, but I must finish it. Favorite Quote:
"...it's a lot easier to be lost than found. Its the reason we're always searching, and rarely discovered - so many locks, not enough keys." (Lock and Key pg 365)
Mini Challenges: 2 out of 2 Kelsey at Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf hosted a Bookish Wishes Challenge, where she asked us to answer 1 of 2 questions. Here is mine:
Question 1: If you could be like any character from a fictional book, who would it be? What do you like about them?Tell me why!
Answer 1: Hmmmm.. this is hard, but since I just re-watched the “The Hunger Games” I must choose Katniss. When I read the books, I just thought she was so cool, and so brave and strong and fearless. She kicks some ass, I want to kick some ass too!!! I’m totally Team Gale though!!!
Fahima at I Read, Ergo I Write challenged us to come up with an Acrostic Poem based on the title of a book. I choose "Lock and Key" because it was the last book in my hands. It was a little hard, had to really think.
Sunday-
What I've read today: "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger
Total number of pages read today: 38
Total number of books completed: 2
total number of pages read: 411
Read-a-thon thoughts: Today was a slow day. I wanted to finish strong, but I must be happy I accomplished my goals. But I think I kinda of expected it to be slow. We were at the part the whole day. And then the VMAs happened and I just had to watch it, N' SYNC made a comeback.I mentioned That I couldn't get into the book a while back, but I'm slowly trying really get into it. Favorite Quote:
"I love him. He's my life. I've been waiting for him, my whole life, and now, he's here." (page 149)
Mini- Challenges: Dana at Little Lovely Books asked us to compile a list of 5 blogs that we found throughout the read-at thon. For me I didn't visit or commented on new blogs as much as I wanted other than all the hosts of the mini-challenges (which I loved). :( But I do feel like I added some blogs to my bloglovin' feed, let go back to try to remember.
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