Portrait of My Brother

Hey!
I'm back with another artwork of mine! I fished out an old photo of my older brother from when he was 7 and decided to sketch it. (Practicing my people-drawing skills...)
Here it is!

Movie Review #5 ~ Hitch

I watched a movie today, and I've got to say that even though it's pretty old, it was an extremely funny movie. It's called Hitch.
Will Smith plays the protagonist, Hitch, so it's no surprise that the movie was amazing.
This movie is about Alex Hitchens (better known as Hitch), a legendary and intentionally anonymous "date doctor." For a fee, Hitch helps hopeless men woo the woman of their dreams. While coaching Albert, a meek financial consultant who is smitten with a glamorous celebrity Allegra Cole, Hitch finally meets his match in Sara Melas. Sara Melas is a gorgeous, whip-smart gossip columnist who just happens to be following Allegra's every move. Hitch suddenly finds himself falling deliriously in love with Sara, a reporter whose big scoop could very well be the unmasking of Manhattan's most famous date doctor.
DUHN DUHN DUHNN.

Anyways. I found the movie hilarious. I loved every bit of it. Definitely worth watching!! There wasn't much that I didn't like about the film at all! Will Smith was absolutely charming. Absolutely perfect for this movie. :)
Be sure to watch this sometime if you want a good laugh!

Train

I seem to be getting the hang of this drawing thing. :) I doodled a train in class today. Hope you guys like it.

Lips

So.
I was sort of sketching without purpose and ended up with this. Well. I've got to say that I'm happy with the turnout :)

Book Review #28 ~ Little Women

Raar. Hey guys, I'm back with another book review. This one's on Little Women. I just happened to be reading this book for my book project at school and I since it's such a well known classic, I thought I just might share this with you!

Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott
Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March are four sisters living with their Mother in New England. Their father is away serving in the civil war, and the sisters struggle to support themselves and keep the house running. As the girls grow older, each faces her own personal moral challenges and inner struggles. Jo tries to tame her tomboyish ways and learns to be more ladylike while pursuing her dreams of being a writer. Meg, the eldest, tries to put aside her love of wealth and luxury in order to follow her heart. Beth, a shy creature, tries her best to conquer her bashfulness, while Amy has to sacrifice her aristocratic pride. Each of the family members go through twists and turns as they try to overcome their inner "demons" and do their best to support their family in these hard times.

I thought that the book was very touchin. It was a completely different genre and mood of story from which I would normally read, but I thought that the book was alright. I didn't like that the book had no major plot with violent, unexpected flips in the story. (I usually read adventure of fantasy. You know, the swashbuckling pirate or the brave and beautiful woman who just happens to be a CIA agent.) It was merely everyday problems that the characters faced, so I must say that it wasn't a particularly captivating or exciting story. If you described the whole novel in one word, it would be "ladylike." The novel was prim, polite, and proper.
This is one of the very few books which I am not sure to whom to recommend. Stereotypically it is said that ladies would like this book, but being a 'lady' myself and not really falling in love with the book as some others do, I'm quite confused. I suppose that it would depend on your personality. This book does offer a lot of good advice, so people who like that kind of thing would absolutely love this! All in all, I thought that the book was O.K.
Thanks for tuning in again~!

The Getty Villa

So today some family friends flew over from Korea, and we went together to see the Getty Villa. The weather was absolutely fantastic. It was not too hot and not too cold, making our visit quite pleasant.
As we were driving, we had no idea when the entrance for the Getty Villa would pop up, so we were eyeing the streets closely. We had to violently swerve into the entrance because it was so small... But the entrance was very beautiful. It had an Italian winehouse kind of feeling to it, what with the stone path leading all the way up to the Villa.
I would say that the Villa itself looked like a mansion that only the richest of the rich would live in; the building was so beautiful!!
When we got into the Villa, there was a countless amount of rooms to view. All rooms were filled with sculptures, and each sculpture was an elaborate, dazzling work of art.
There were so many sculptures that I loved, and it was overall a beautiful place.
I've got to say that of all the sculptures/exhibitions that were part of the Getty Villa, I liked the Pompeii exhibit the best. It was quite interesting because it had many casts made of the hollow figures of people left in the ash when the volcano exploded. It held my attention because many of the figures were doing everyday things when the lava swept over them, killing them instantly. It was a very cool exhibit!
Not only was the interior of the building amazing, the outside was breathtakingly beautiful too. There was a particular pool that was absolutely amazing. I have to say that it wasn't exactly a pool; it would have to be much deeper for that...
Anywho, there were two figures made of a shiny black stone sitting on rocks as if sunbathing on either side of the long pool, and it was delightful to look at.
All in all, the Getty Villa was amazing, and I would definitely recommend this place for everyone; it's a wonderful place to visit!!

Detoxing

So I started this fruit detox thing a couple days ago...
I'm confined to a strict diet of fruit, vegetables, brown rice, and freshly juiced (in our juicer) fruits and vegetables.
I'm not allowed to have anything containing salt or sugar whatsoever, so for me as a kid, it's not exactly the easiest thing to do.
I've managed to stay away from all things unhealthy so far, but I have to admit; the cravings are killing me. It's so bad that I'm starting to crave things that I don't even like. I can't walk through a grocery aisle without finding a million things that I want but can't have. I just have an uncontrollable desire for all things bad.
Surprisingly, however, I'm not hungry or lethargic because I'm eating just fruits and vegetables. I'm quite energized, and the vegetable juice that we grind doesn't taste too bad. (It just isn't the same as the sweet/salty, mouthwateringly delicious artificial taste that you get with things like cookies and chocolate and french fries.)
But this detox really helped me realize how almost everything I ate in my everyday life was unhealthy. (Tasty, but unhealthy.)
I still have a couple weeks of detoxing ahead of me, (Yes, I'm going fairly hardcore this time) so I will really need to work at it to achieve my goal. Hopefully I won't be tempted to the point where I charge into the candy aisles in the grocery store and rip everything that I want off the shelves and devour it right then and there... :)

Book Review #28 ~ The Dark is Rising

So I finally got to finish this book over the weekend after reading for a week or two. I thought that it was a fairly good book and worthy of showing my precious viewers, so without further ado, here is:

The Dark is Rising ~ Susan Cooper

When Will Stanton turns eleven, his entire life changes. He discovers something special about himself that he had never known before. He is one of the Old Ones, immortal beings dedicated to keeping the world out of evil's clutches. He is overwhelmed by all the new events that are happening and all the new information being hurled at him. However, time doesn't allow him to stop and catch his breath, and so he is immediately enveloped into a hunt for the six magical signs that will eventually be a great help in the final battle between the light and the dark. And so Will finds himself caught in an overwhelmingly exciting, terrifying, and fascinating chain of events during the twelve days of Christmas as he musters up his strength and courage to face the forces of evil.

This book had a very large amount of imagination in it, so it was quite interesting to see what the writer would so cleverly place in the story next. However, I wasn't completely absorbed in the book as I was with some others I had read in the past; mainly because the searching of the signs was a surprisingly brief process-much shorter than what I had been expecting. It was also because the signs were quite easily found. Yes, with some amount of struggle, but not too much; the signs simply appeared. But overall, I was quite satisfied with the book.
I hope that you will enjoy the book too!

Back to School.

So I have been back at school for a week now and I really miss summer.
Oh gosh, I didn't realize how great it was until it was taken away from me! All those days sleeping as late as I want and not having to worry about homework was great. Now it's back to rushing to get to school on time in the mornings... -_-"
Anyways, school has not been so bad so far. The amount of homework is reasonable and my teachers are all to my liking, so I expecting that this year will be a great year...
As for summer, looking back, I really did have a fantastic break. We went to so many places and made lots of memories; although time flew by, I enjoyed every minute of my break.
And on the other hand, for school, I'm really looking forward to making my last year in middle school memorable. I will be moving up to high school next year and since everyone (including myself) has high expectations for my academic life, I will be spending the next couple years busy busy busy with my studies. What fun.
Anyways, I hope that all of you had a wonderful summer break and don't have too much of a stressful year in front of you; good luck!!

A pile of lucky charms for good luck. I know a lot of us will be needing it~~

Huntington Library!

After reserving our free day tickets for the Huntington Library a month before, we finally went to the Huntington Library yesterday.
It was beautiful. For those of you who don't know, the Huntington Library is not just a library, it consists of many gardens and has art collections/museums in it too. The admission for adults is usually $20, but we reserved our free day tickets (free days are the first thursday of every month) a month before and entered for free.
We had heard a lot about the Huntington, and saw that it had been spoken highly of all over the internet, and it didn't fail to please us.
The entire place was so big, it was hard to see everything in the couple hours that we had before closing. There were so many different gardens, including Japanese Gardens, Desert Gardens, Chinese Gardens, Australian Gardens, and so much more. They were all very beautiful and lush with plant life; it probably needed an immense amount of upkeep for all of the plants to survive.



The Japanese Garden





The Desert Garden

The gardens had everything from ponds to open fields and small trails. There were even statues here and there that were beautiful works of art.
Unfortunately we didn't get to see everything since closing time was very soon.
It was very hot out yesterday, and since there was so much ground to cover, we were sweating and our feet were hurting by the time we finished looking through 3 or 4 gardens.
Since it was near closing time, we decided that we would leave the rest of the gardens for another trip in the future (hopefully?) and visit the art museums.
I love looking at art, and all the furniture was very interesting. It was somewhat like a mini version of the Getty. The most famous painting that is kept here is 'The Blue Boy' by Thomas Gainsborough.

The Sculptures on the North Vista Lawn. There was a row of sculptures going down the grass lane and it was just so beautiful.

So that marked the end of our trip, and I've got to say, as tired as I was, it was beautiful and I loved the beautiful scenery, sculptures, and paintings. It's definitely somewhere to visit!!

Mt. San Jacinto Travel Journal

So I decided to do an illustrated travel journal, but that was before I found out how hard it was to draw and travel at the same time. The trip itself was quite physically exhausting, but I managed, having an hour or so of free time each night. I hope you enjoy!

The cute notebook that we got from Korea. This is what I use as my travel journal.



Brave ~ Merida

I was caught up with everything concerning Brave today, and so I drew this. I've got to say, I'm quite pleased with it...  (^w^)

Movie Review #4 ~ Brave

So I finally got to watch Brave in theaters with my friends, and it was pretty good. It was a really nice mix of comedy and emotion.
What amazed me the most was the brilliant graphics. There was not a blemish to be pointed out throughout the whole movie, and everthing seemed so real. I was mesmermized by the detail of the clothing and whatnot...

So the movie is about Merida, a scottish princess who is simply tired of being a princess. She draws the line when her parents explain to her that they have decided a couple people that are marriage material. This is when she tries to change her fate. She makes a reckless choice when she meets a witch and unintended danger pops up here and there, causing her to jump into action and try to set things right again.

 I usually love all pixar movies, so this one was no exception. However if I had to point out a con about the movie, it was the fact that it was quite predictable. Meh. It was still splendid to watch~

Fancy Schmancy.

Why this random drawing? 'Cause I wore a dress today and I felt like royalty... ☆.☆
lol.

p.s. that's supposed to be a pinky sticking up over a teacup... it looked better in my head. (>w<)

Book Review #27 ~ The Light in the Forest

So this book is a classic, and I could definitely see why. The book was quite dated and you could tell, but nevertheless, I found it wonderful. The book was just so detailed and I could practically imagine every single scene in the entire book. So without further ado, here is:
The Light in The Forest ~ Conrad Richter
When John Butler was four years old, he was captured by the Lenni Lenape Indians. They took him in and Cuyloga adopted him, renamed him "True Son," and treated him as though he were his own son by blood. True son grew up with the Indians, eating their food, living their ways of life, worshipping their gods, and learning to think and fight like them. True Son had no memory of his childhood with his real parents, so as far as he was concerned, he was born an Indian and would remain an Indian for the rest of his life. But his peaceful, content lifestyle is overturned when the whites make a treaty with the Indians. The treaty required the Indians to return all their white captives to their original families. Many people in many different villages gave up people that they were close enough with to be their true family members. To the white soldiers' surprise, the captives were reluctant to return because they had spent so much time with the Indians and had become one of them.
True Son was especially reluctant, for he had been raised to hate the whites, but he musters up his inner Indian and tries to stick through this painful time in his life.

I found the book so incredibly powerful and moving. So I've been reading lots of happily ever after books nowadays, and when I read this one, I was brough to tears. I loved every bit of the book. I could feel the heartaches and the triumphs, I could smell the pine and feel the grass... The book was amazingly descriptive; it is a must read.

Can't Go Camping.

So this whole week the weather has been absolutely beautiful andthe sun has been shining, and of course, all of a sudden, the day that we decided to go camping, the rain comes pouring down. Everywhere. The city where we live, the city we were planning on going camping to - I mean everywhere. *sigh*

So Hot.

Ohmygoodness the temperature is spiking all of a sudden and I JUST CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT. D:
I'm really not used to rolling around on the floor in front of the fan. So different from Vancouver...

30 Days of Lists ~ Day 4

30 Days of Lists ~ Day 3

30 Days of Lists ~ Day 2

Plant.

So I did a quick sketch of a plant in our house, and I am quite happy with how it turned out... :)

30 Days of Lists ~ Day 1

How I Read a Book

Hi all~~
So here's a little doodle that I did about how I read a book.
Unfortunately the quality isn't that great and you can see the little scribbles, but hopefully you can look past that and enjoy!! *^^*

Book Review #26 ~ Behind the Secret Window

Oh my, this book was amazing.
When I read the back cover of the book, I wasn't too interested, since it sounded too similar to "The Diary of Anne Frank." However, I decided to give it a chance since books about the Holocaust are very exciting and suspenseful to read, and boy am I glad that I did.
So without further ado, here is...

Behind the Secret Window ~ Nelly S. Toll
When the Nazis arrive in Poland, Nelly's happy life is overturned and transforms into one filled with fear and despair. 6-year-old Nelly must suddenly learn how to deal with these terrifying problems like an adult and try to cope with her situation the best she can; and remarkably, she does.
No matter how incredibly difficult and heartbreaking situations get, she listens to her parents and tries to understand.
When things worsen and tensions rise sky high, Nelly's father sends her and her mother to a Gentile couple who is willing to hide them in their home, and so an entire year passes as they lie hidden in the small bedroom, living in constant fear of discovery.
The only thing that gets Nelly through these terrible times are the watercolor paintings that she paints to pass the time as they spend their days in silence. She paints a fantasy world filled with happiness and laughter, and family and friends, and tries to imagine away the horror and loss.

I found this book to be very powerful. Every moment the story had me on my toes, anticipating what would happen next; I experienced so many different feelings while reading this book. There was horror, there was hate. There was happiness, there was sympathy. I simply loved every minute of it. I would definitely recommend this book to everybody, and I give it 5/5 stars.
Hope that you'll love it as much as I did!

30 Days of Lists

So I was surfing the internet the other day and found out about "30 Days of Lists."
Unfortunately, the event was long ago, but I think it'll be fun to do it anyway!
Originally, the lists are supposed to be simply lists, but I've decided to put my own twist on things and draw the lists.
I'll be posting the lists soon, so look forward to lots of drawings!! ^^

Candy Store.

Here's a painting that I did about a year ago. I call it candy store~

One of my most favorite places in the whole world.

My All Time Favorite Pens

So the scanner has finally come in the mail which means that I can now share some of my drawings with you!
So here's a sketch of a couple of my all time favorite pens. I like to save them for special occasions, but of course, no occasion is special enough to use them...
I've decided that I really need to just use them since they will dry out if I don't... -3-

Scanner

So I've been wanting a scanner for the longest time so I could share some of my drawings and doodles with you guys, and finally, after lots and lots of searching, we bought one online.
Since I had absolutely no idea what I was looking for, I went on the internet and started looking for which scanner seemed to be the cheapest and the best.
When I came upon the Vupoint Magic Wand Scanner, I was quite lured in. Not only did I like the name of the scanner, it was small and portable, and once I learned that all you had to do to scan something was swipe the scanner over the document, I had my mind set on buying it. On top of it all, it was only $70!
So I typed a few things and clicked a few buttons and I was told that my Magic Wand was on its way. Unfortunately I spent half an hour at my window waiting for the UPS man to arrive, until I was informed by my parents that the package wouldn't arrive until sometime next week.
I don't think I can even put into words how stupid I felt at that moment...
But in my defense, it was my first time ordering anything online, and I thought that, much like everything else on the internet, the package would come in a couple minutes.
Unfortunately it didn't.
Well, I've got to say, lesson learned. :)
To end on a happier and less naive note, I will have drawings and such uploaded onto my blog as soon as my scanner arrives, so look forward to a whole 'nother level of Sitting by the Ocean. *cue dramatic music.*

Movie Review #3 ~ "Soul Surfer"

So the other day, I finally got to watch "Soul Surfer." I had heard many good things about the movie and I had been wanting to watch it for some time now. The movie is wonderful but contains a sad story. What I love about this movie is that it's not just pure sadness throughout the whole thing, but is a story in which sadness turns into success. "Soul Surfer" tells the story of a 13-year-old girl named Bethany Hamilton who is a champion surfer. Born into a family of surfers, Bethany has been in the water since she was a baby, and has belonged there ever since. She spends her life in the water and has grown up with surfing. She leads a happy and content life until a tragic accident occurs while surfing with her best friend. A shark attacks her, biting her arm off. She remains remarkably calm as she is rushed to the hospital and tries to stay that way and trust in God.
Right then and there, her life is changed forever, for now she must learn how to live her life with only one arm. It takes everything she has in her to get back in the water again, but once she does, she comes out triumphantly.

What I loved so much about this movie was that it was based on a true story. I thought that the movie itself was amazing, but to hear that this had actually happened in someone's life made the whole thing surreal. Many parts of the movie were heart-wrenching, but I had to admit that there were many happy and heartwarming moments also. Overall, I thought that the movie was great, and I really wouldn't mind watching it again!
I definitely recommend this movie for everyone; it's worth watching.
Bethany Hamilton and AnnaSophia Robb
                                                                    (Bethany Hamilton in "Soul Surfer")

Laguna Beach!

So as most of you know, today was Memorial day and since my dad got a day off from work, our family got to go to Laguna Beach to spend the day there. The weather was incredible, but the only thing that I have to complain about is the traffic. I guess we should've been expecting it since it was Memorial day and everybody had a day off, but we really didn't think that there would be that many people coming to Laguna Beach! It was so crowded that it took us an entire hour to find a parking space so that we could actually go and enjoy ourselves at the beach. Once we got there, however, it was beautiful. The sun was shining bright and the sea was glittering... it was really wonderful. We took a nice, long walk on the beach and it was probably one of the best walks I've ever had. I especially loved the water rolling in and licking at your feet. Everything about the place was incredible. Unfortunately it was too hot to sit on the beach and relax since the sun was beating down on us, so we decided to buy an beach umbrella (or sunbrella, as I like to call it) for next time.
I am so glad to be living in California; there are a countless number of beautiful beaches here! Really looking forward to going again next time!

School's Out!

Oh boy, I thought this day would never come! School is finally out!
However, I've got to admit that I'm a little blue to be leaving seventh grade, but then again, I am looking forward to eighth grade!
I am particularly proud of myself this year because I won an award in every subject and got an A+ in all of my classes!
Hopefully I'll be able to keep my grades this way throughout eight grade also!
I'm so thankful to have gotten by despite the fact that I had such a big move in the middle of the year!
Also, I'm also ecstatic about the fact that our school district goes on break earlier than most districts! I really could use the break, especially an early one.
Hopefully all of you have had a great week and are looking forward to making great summer memories when break begins~
Have fun and enjoy yourselves, and if ever you feel bored, you can always stop by and come Sitting by the Ocean!
(oh boy that was really cheesy... but it was pretty witty.)

Dissecting An Eyeball

Finals are over, thank goodness, and I guess to celebrate, we dissected a sheep's eyeball in science class. I was definitely looking forward to dissecting the eyeball until I actually saw our teacher dramatically pull out the dripping eyeball from the bucket. Since it was our first time dissecting an eyeball, he walked around the classroom playfully shoving the eyeball in people's faces, meaning for us to get used to seeing it.And of course, amused by our reactions, he would go around plopping our very own eyeball on our trays so that it would splatter.
I have to admit, I was slightly horrified by the fatty round object staring up at me, but once I snapped on my latex gloves, I got in there and fearlessly cut the little sucker open.
It was not the most pleasant sight, but it was definitely interesting. I won't go into every little detail for my weak-hearted viewers out there, which is also the reason why I will not be uploading an actual picture either.
Overall, it was a great experience and although seeing the eyeball made me a little woozy at first, I'm really glad that I got a chance to do this dissection!!

Finals.

So this week I've had my nose stuck in my textbooks as I studied for final exams. I have to admit, it was pretty tedious; especially because the words I was reading off the page went right through my head, which means reading it over and over again until it's stuck there in your brain. I have a whole schedule planned out (yes call me crazy) about when I study which subject. I have no idea whether it's working well for me, because honestly, I am subconcious while I'm studying. I really hope that I'm prepared for the exams, because I have definitely had my fill of studying.
Another thing that I find quite sad is that I have been so caught up in doing well on my finals that I haven't even had time to count down the days until school's out. I've always done this, but maybe that's because 7th grade was still elementary in Canada, and elementary students don't have final exams, so in conclusion, no final exams=more time to do fairly useless things. (such as counting down the days until school ends)
Anyways, I just decided to do this post because blogging and my secret candy stash have been the only things getting me through all this studying...
I hope that the rest of you have had a good week and don't have to work your butts off studying quite yet!!

Book Review #25 ~ Shiloh

So it seems that I haven't done a book review in a while, and I would really love to share with you the books that I have been reading.

Shiloh ~ Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11-year-old Marty Preston loves to spend time outdoors in his family's large yard. His summer is off to a great start so far, but everything becomes even better when a beagle he sees on the side of the road follows him home. Marty knows that his family has no intentions of getting a pet, so he decides to hide the dog from the rest of his family and take care of it by himself. He names the dog Shiloh, and they instantly bond.
However, his family finds out that the dog follows him home every day, and his parents insist that he gives the dog back to its rightful owner. Marty tries to tell his parents that he sees Shiloh's owner abuse his dogs, but they stand their ground and tell him over and over to do the right thing. They finally manage to take Shiloh back to its owner, but giving up is the last thing that Marty will do. He tries harder than ever to get Shiloh back, deciding to do whatever it takes to get the dog back into his loving care.

This was a very moving book, and I loved every bit of it. The visualization was so great, I could clearly imagine every scene in the book. The story may not seem like much at first, but it is much more intriguing and deep than you would think. I found myself turning page after page, always wanting to see what came next. Overall, I personally thought that the book was fantastic and well-written.

Movie Review #3 ~ Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

So today, I was  to finally watch the much anticipated Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol! My dad and I watched it together, and since we are both fans of action movies, the movie was excellent. I loved all of the Mission Impossible movies, so I was obviously expecting to love this one too.
So in the fourth movie, Ethan Hunt, with his new team, is sent to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks who has gained access to the russian nuclear launch codes and is planning to blow up the United States. The team follows him to the Kremlin in Russia, and after a strenuous struggle to stop him at the Kremlin, it ends in a disaster. The Kremlin's damage is almost irrevocable. Because the IMF was involved with this, the president of the United States is forced to reject the IMF, leaving all the members of IMF without any backup or special weapons whatsoever. However, Ethan being Ethan, is unaffected by this major change. His team goes rogue and continues to track down Hendricks, determined to stop the bombing he's planning and prove IMF's innocency.
I thought this movie was thrilling in an absolutely awesome way. There are so many spectacular action sequences throughout the whole movie, which kept me on my toes the entire time. I really think this movie is worth watching, especially if you enjoyed any of the other Mission Impossible movies!