Happy Holidays!

Hi guys! Long time no see, eh? Anyways, I'd just like to take a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whichever holiday you are celebrating with your family! And may this New Year bring us changes for the better (or the worse), and make us an even better person.

Have a lovely holidays!

Grace :)

Suddenly, my worries don't seem like much

This Saturday (so tomorrow), my family and I are heading on a cruise to the Caribbeans. ^^

But one of the major things that have been preoccupying my mind for the past few days is the size of our room. Yup, I have been worrying about the size of our room, and how apparently it is twice as small than a average hotel room. I have been pondering as to how I will survive sleeping in such a small room for seven days.

But then I thought...

If the Jews could survive concentration camp, if the less-fortunate people living on the streets could survive the winter nights, why can't I survive a seven day cruise in a small room? I will be fed, I will be visiting great monuments, I will be swimming in the pool, and yet I am still complaining of a small room?!

Suddenly, a lot of my worries don't seem like much anymore, and for good reasons.

If we pause for a moment and reflect on all the great things we have in our life, we will realize that we should be grateful for many, many things, and we should not always complain about the things that are "downgrades".

So, on that note, I will not be posting anything for about a week or more, because there is no WI-FI (Cry of total despair!!!!!) on the cruise...

Wishing you guys a very happy holidays!

The Spirit of Childhood

Just a short little post a decided to do. This song put me in the mood.

I've been quite busy these past few months. Sometimes, I feel like I barely have time to breathe. Time is passing at such a rapid rate that I haven't even settled on the notion that Christmas is soon approaching. And every time I find some time to read, or to blog, my mind is always a little elsewhere, thinking about other works, other events that are soon coming in my way.

Classical Piece of the Week: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

*I've got a new playlist on Youtube for all my Classical Pieces of the Week! You can check it out here!*

I went to watch The Nutcracker last year, and I must say, I wish I had appreciated it just a little more, because I do realize now just how fantastic the whole ballet- and the music, was!

One of the pieces I particularly liked was the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by (evidently) Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It has got a really mysterious, yet gorgeous feeling to it, and the dance number that goes with it is absolutely stunning.

Book Review: The Queen of Kentucky

Author: Alecia Whitaker

Pages: 375

Year Published: 2012

My Rating: 3.5/ 5 stars!

Quick Synopsis from Goodreads:
Fourteen-year-old Kentucky girl Ricki Jo Winstead, who would prefer to be called Ericka, thank you very much, is eager to shed her farmer's daughter roots and become part of the popular crowd at her small town high school. She trades her Bible for Seventeen magazine, buys new "sophisticated" clothes and somehow manages to secure a tenuous spot at the cool kids table. She's on top of the world, even though her best friend and the boy next door Luke says he misses "plain old Ricki Jo." Caught between being a country girl and wannabe country club girl, Ricki Jo begins to forget who she truly is: someone who doesn't care what people think and who wouldn't let a good-looking guy walk all over her. It takes a serious incident out on Luke's farm for Ricki Jo to realize that being a true friend is more important than being popular.

Well, Alice Whitaker, you got me. You went beyond what I was excepting, and wrote an ostensibly cliché book into a one of a kind, one that you could call your own.

After reading the synopsis and the first few chapters, I thought I had the whole book figured out. First, Ricki Jo would be that awkward new girl at school, but then would slowly blossom into one of the "populars". Then she would catch the attention of her since-the-school-year-started crush, the hot but actually not hot bad boy Wolf. While their relationship developed, Luke, Ricki Jo's lifelong best friend, would be watching silently from the side (but not in a stalker-ish way) wishing that Ricki Jo would realize that he is the one who is truly for her. Then, several turn of events, including the realization that Wolf is actually a jerk, would lead to our naive yet oh so charming protagonist to discover that Luke was the one she should've loved from the beginning. The two would then have a heart-felt conversation, kiss, and live happily ever after.
 
Well, needless to say, this book was not like what it seemed.