DIY OBSESSION (...it's new)

So... I am slowly becoming obsessed with DIY. The other day on Pinterest I discovered the existence of Mod Podge. Anybody else ever heard of this stuff? I may be the only person on Earth who has never heard of it! Anyways, I did some research and found out what it’s for: AWESOMENESS! I haven’t bought any of the actual stuff yet (but I will SOON)! I have fantastic plans to re-do two end tables Ryan and I bought at an estate sale. One word: DECOUPAGE, which is the art of decorating something with cut-out something else, something flat, like paper or fabric, usually using Mod Podge (or something similar).

365 Days of DIY 

Recipe:

Mix 1 ½ cups of flour, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of any sort of oil, and 1 ¼ cup of water together in a saucepan or something similar on LOW heat. Stir until it becomes “pasty.” I used a whisk and it worked out perfectly. If you can make gravy, you can make paste. Pour into a Mason jar and apply a tight-fitting lid.

DO NOT USE this on serious projects. I haven’t tried it on wood, but I did decorate my cat’s play box today and I will tell you, it is just like papier-mâché. VERY, VERY fun for small crafty projects, though. I would highly recommend this paste for crafts as it is very cheap, very easy, and fun!!

So I made the paste:

Then poured it in a JAR:

VERY PRETTY, at least!

Next I spent three and a half hours of my life pasting pictures from a very cute children’s book onto my cat, Snickerdoodle’s, play box! I forgot to take a "before" picture, so just imagine a plain box.

Cute right??

I will blog my next project, just as soon as I figure out what it is! HAHA. Thanks!

-Chandra

Antique Gaming: SNES: Super Mario RPG Part 2

Super Mario RPG: Super Walkthrough: PART 2

In Mushroom Way, you will be facing Goombas and Sky Troopas. The Goombas can generally be defeated with one regular move, but the Flying Troopas will require at least two hits. I highly recommend that you fight as many monsters as possible, at this point in the game, because you will soon be facing a foe that will absolutely destroy you if you don’t level up a bit. Make sure you keep an eye on your HP, as well, and use the mushrooms Toad gave you if you get low; they will restore 30 HP.

After I defeated a few Goombas and Troopas, I saw that Toad had been trapped by a Goomba. I defeated the Goomba, thus saving Toad; Mario was rewarded with a Honey Syrup, which will recover 10 Flower Points when used. Unfortunately, the Goombas were kicking my butt today; I guess my timing is off. One Goomba hit me with 2 damage, then the next hit me and did 3 damage! :-(

When you level up, you have the option of selecting a bonus. You can choose between POWER, which raises regular attack and defense, HP, which will raise health points, or MAGIC, which will raise your magic attack and defense. I generally always choose POWER. I don’t like having to struggle against foes. I prefer to beat them in one hit, when possible.

I recommend getting Mario to, at least, level 3 before facing the up-coming mini-boss, who will show up at the end of the passage, between Mushroom Way and Mushroom Kingdom.

On quite a few of the Goombas I fought, I would defeat one and it would give me “HP MAX”. After making it to level 2, you should be able to take care of Sky Troopas with one hit.

In the next stage, Toad has been captured by a Sky Troopa. I defeated it, once again rescuing Toad, and he rewarded me with a Flower Tab, which raises your maximum Flower Points (FP). In the next area, there is a Lakitu throwing Spikeys (they’re red and pokey). Fight all of them so you can level up again.

I made it to level 4 before facing the mini-boss. I went through all 3 sections of Mushroom Way twice, fighting every enemy.

When I first ran into a Hammer Bro, he had Toad by the scruff. He yelled at Mario, asking who he was looking at. Then, he tells Mario that he and his hammer don’t like him. Toad tells Mario he better be careful because the Hammer Bro has a “mean streak.” After this initial conversation, you have the choice to walk away… if you’re a wuss or if you need to level up more (like I previously stated, I am level 4 at this point, and I would highly recommend you at least be level 3). I decide to jump toward the Hammer Bro to start the battle. He yells that Mario has made him and his hammer angry and that he shouldn’t have done that. Then, the battle begins!

In this mini-boss battle, Mario is facing off against 2 Hammer Bros. The Hammer Bros’ main attack is simply a conk on the head, which, if you defend Mario properly, will only produce 1 damage. I decide to use Mario’s JUMP attack, in order to defeat them quicker. If you were patient enough to make it to level 4, you can defeat the first Hammer Bro with ONE jump attack! The second Hammer Bro took me 3 jump attacks. If it takes you longer to defeat them, they may use a move called “Hammer Time,” in which they throw a bunch of hammers at Mario’s head. From what I remember, the damage is pretty substantial. When you defeat the Hammer Bros, you will receive 6 XP, 20 coins, and a Flower Jar, which will raise your FP by 3.

Toad thanks Mario for saving him… AGAIN, then announces that Mushroom Kingdom is just ahead. Toad then sees a very obvious hammer lying on the ground. It turns out to be one of the Hammer Bro’s hammers. Mario decides to keep it; I have found Mario’s FIRST weapon! Now, I will go to the Menu, then to Equip, and give Mario the hammer. Anytime you come across a new weapon, you should equip it IMMEDIATELY, because it will raise your attack power.

When I leave, it takes me to the World Map. I now have the option to travel to Mushroom Kingdom! Mushroom Kingdom is a small town with quite a few little houses. When I approach the castle, I see two mushroom men guarding the entrance. In the entrance hall, Toad is waiting to show me to the Chancellor. I’ve never been able to do it, but if you jump on Toad’s head, then to the top of the first doorway, there will be a secret treasure box there containing a frog coin.

The Chancellor carries on FOREVER about hearing an explosion at Bowser’s Keep and how he almost dropped his spores and then he asks Mario where Princess Toadstool is. Mario immediately acts out everything that has happened thus far. The Chancellor tells Mario that it is up to him to “enter Bowser’s Keep and rescue Princess Toadstool!” Mario acts out that he can’t because the bridge is gone. Then, the Chancellor is horrified that the Keep is “unassailable.” He tells Mario that her life is in his hands and asks him to please save their Princess. When I start to leave the room, the Chancellor yells at Mario and he falls on his face. The Chancellor gives Mario a map and Mario proceeds to leave the room when the Chancellor yells again and Mario falls down the steps. The Chancellor tells Mario to go to the cellar to prepare for his journey. Then, Mario can FINALLY leave the room!

In the Vault (cellar), the guard will tell you what each of the 3 treasure boxes contain. The first box contains a large coin (the small coins are worth 1, while the large coins are worth 10), the second box contains a flower (the more you gather, the more FP you will have in battle), and the third box contains a mushroom. Mushroom treasure boxes will restore your HP and FP.

I leave the vault and decide to visit Princess Toadstool’s bedroom, where her Grandmother is pacing back and forth. If you stick Mario’s nose into the right side of the fireplace, you will find Toadstool’s ???. Her Grandma catches Mario snooping and yells at him, then trades him for a mushroom. I decide to leave the castle, at that point, and explore Mushroom Kingdom a bit.

As I walk away from the castle, a scene unfolds in front of Mario of a small, yellow fluff person with purple hair chasing a purple reptile. However, the reptile is too fast and the fluff person quickly loses him. The fluff person then whines that the reptile stole his Grandpa’s coin and starts to cry, then it starts to rain.

I take Mario to talk to the fluff person and get him to stop crying. He says his name is Mallow and there’s nothing like a good cry. Then, he can’t remember what he was crying about. Mario falls on his face, then Mallow remembers. His Grandpa sent him to buy some things, but before he could, the croc stopped him and stole his coin! A crazy woman, standing near them, asks Mario to show her how he was going to take care of Bowser; Mario jumps, and Mallow is amazed to see that he is talking to THE Super Mario! He says he is a frog from Tadpole Pond, but that he can’t jump at all. Mallow asks Mario if he will help him catch the thief. If you reply by saying that you’re “a little busy,” Mallow will start to cry again, so I usually just go with, “SURE THING!”

“The young frog, Mallow, who doesn’t look AT ALL like a frog, joins Mario in his quest.”

FORESHADOWING ALERT! Remember this when you read future posts; it is HIGHLY significant.

Mario now has a companion, who will prove to be a huge help during future battles! Mario defeated the Hammer Bros, saved Toad countless times, found his first weapon, and met his very first companion! The next post will contain Mario’s first BIG BATTLE, and a trip to meet Mallows Grandpa at Tadpole Pond!

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Review: The Time Keeper BY Mitch Albom

5:06p.m.

I started reading The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom on June 12, 2013. And I finished it... later that evening. Needless to say, it is a short novel, and can be read very quickly. Regardless, the depth of this book makes it an automatic MUST READ. 

The subject of the book is one I have never thought about in my life. There has not been one day that I wondered what it was like when there was no time. Or what my life could/would be like if I didn't constantly worry about being "on time." I was hooked from page one.

"A man sits alone in a cave. His hair is long. His beard reaches his knees. He holds his chin in the cup of his hands. He closes his eyes. He is listening to something. Voices. Endless voices. They rise from a pool in the corner of the cave. They are the voices of people on Earth. They want only one thing. TIME."

I wake up in the morning, look at the clock. Have breakfast, look at the clock. I have to be somewhere by some time so I hurry to make it. How many times during the day do you think about time? It is amazing, to me, how our lives revolve around it.

The Time Keeper makes a particularly strong point when it mentions that animals nor insects worry about time. It is only humans who are concerned with it. 

Humans, along with animals and insects, are restricted by it. But it is only humans who constantly worry that we will not have enough time. It is impossible for us to accept the time we have, and use it wisely. 

I just glanced at the clock. It is 5:15p.m. 

Father Time. The Time Keeper is about Father Time's journey. From the moment when he started to measure time, to his being punished by God and condemned to spend thousands of years in a cave, alone, never aging, having to listen to the woes of people on Earth as they continue to want for more time. Father Time is finally released from his prison, but only to return to Earth to find two people. One person has too little time. And the other has too much. It is his mission to enlighten these people with what he has learned; to teach them to respect that we have no control over what time we have.

5:20p.m.

We cannot cryogenic-ally freeze ourselves and hope to awaken one day to a new life. We cannot take a long walk off a short bridge because we cannot handle the hand we have been dealt. It is not up to us how long we are here. 

Appreciate the time you have. Spend every second doing something that makes you happy. Because its not up to you. You will never know how long you have.

This book will open your eyes.

Review: The Wednesday Letters

New York Times bestselling author, Jason E. Wright, has written an absolute MUST-READ! The Wednesday Letters will inspire you. Upon opening this book, I quickly became submerged in a world of love and forgiveness. It's a page-turner; the first time I read it, I couldn't put it down, and I have re-read it countless times since.

Jack Cooper vows on his wedding night to write his newlywed, Laurel, every week. He vows to her that, no matter what, he will always stand by her. This tradition ends when Jack and Laurel Cooper die on the same night, 40 years in the future.

The Cooper children return home and we follow them as they grieve the death of their parents. They stumble upon thousands of letters, written from Jack to Laurel, and begin reading them aloud to each other. Little do they know that some of these letters carry a family secret so big, it could change their lives forever.

The Wednesday Letters is one of my favorite novels. The story is rich with detail and emotion. The characters are dynamic and memorable. It is filled with humor and suspense that will keep the reader on the edge. This is a story of forgiveness, redemption, and the ties that bond family. 

Don't you wish you were the type of person who could write a letter to your significant other once a week? Just to have a tradition like that would be incredible. Imagine your children finding the letters when they grow up, or maybe when you're gone. Your children would have an opportunity to see your life, know what struggles you overcame, and understand what made you, YOU.

I recommend that everyone read The Wednesday Letters by Jason E. Wright. It's the sort of novel that can be read over and over and never get old. The story is something so original and touching, you won't soon forget it.

Purchase from Barnes & Noble HERE

Isabella: Future Singing Sensation?

As you may know, my daughter recently turned 5-years-old. She is the most amazing person I know. It’s so fantastic the way a child will change you. What’s better, is how a child can entertain you.

Isabella loves to sing. When she is not talking, laughing, eating, or sleeping, she is singing. She sings in the car, she sings while she plays with her toys, she sings while she plays video games, she sings all the time, I think you get the point. The greatest thing about this is that she is into the same music I am. Bella doesn’t just rock out to Disney tunes or something she heard on Spongebob Squarepants; her internal playlist is constantly updated with the latest hits and even some obscure music from the past. The other day, for example, I heard her singing something that sounded very familiar. I asked what it was and she replied, simply, “Radioactive.” I started laughing, because I don’t even know all of the words to that song, but she apparently had it stuck in her head.

*Listen to Radioactive by Imagine Dragons HERE

Bella is a wonder to travel with. We usually have no problems when it comes to music in the car. Most of the songs I play, she will sing along with and dance to. But on our way back home from Berea, the other day, we had been playing songs that she liked the entire way, and when we got close to home, I turned on a song I hadn’t listened to in a while: “Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters”. She was NOT happy. I knew she had heard the song before, and it’s obviously a good one, therefore I thought she should like it, but she covered her ears and said, “I just don’t want to listen to a BOY song!” My fiancé and I both found this very funny, considering that most of the songs we had listened to were, in fact, boy songs; all of which she had enjoyed thoroughly. We came to the conclusion that, in her aggravation, she used the first excuse that popped into her head to get us to turn the song off. We didn’t. I started singing and dancing to it, and she soon followed.

*Listen to Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters HERE

When Bella was a baby, I loved to listen to ABBA. Dancing Queen and Money Money Money are a couple of my favorites from ABBA. Bella still loves all ABBA songs, to this day. Anyways, when she was a baby, she would stand in her crib by holding on to the rails. I would play songs by ABBA and she would dance. It was the most wonderful thing, watching her dance by bending her little, chubby legs and bobbing her head, all while holding on, because she couldn’t walk yet and would surely fall.

Bella’s favorite singer is currently Taylor Swift. Any time we get in the car, I immediately ask what she would like to listen to. Her reply is, generally, always the same, “Taylor Swift.” Any song I turn on by Taylor Swift, she knows every word to. She is starting to catch on to the pitch at which Taylor is singing to. Bella now knows when to make her voice higher and when to make it lower in a song. It’s so fun listening to her. When she is singing, I wish I could just turn the music all the way down and listen to her sing, but obviously I can’t do that because she would #1 stop singing and #2 be mad that I turned the music off.