POST#49: TOP 12 OF 2012!!!!

Happy New Year! Today marks my last blog post (Don't worry! I won't stop blogging!) before the new year, so I'm doing a 2012 recap through a "Top 12 in 2012" list, #12 being the least, and #1 being the best. I'm gonna go through all the awesome things (and also, whatever was impressing) that happened during 2012. So, behold! The list!

TOP 12 OF 2012:

1. Santa giving me a Kindle Fire (I didn't even ask for it, Santa knows his stuff!) 
2. Starting up my blog!
3. Step Up Revolution (refer to post #28)
4. The Summer Olympics and The Fierce Five (refer to posts #27 and #28)
5. Starting fifth grade :) (refer to post #29)
6. Joining my school's Ecology Club. (refer to post #35)
7. Wreck-it-Ralph (refer to post #41)
8. Starting to read The Hunger Games (refer to post #38)
9. Getting a laptop.
10. One Direction on iCarly :) (refer to post #48)
11. Me winning the capitals of the world competition. (refer to post #43)
12. Kate Middleton getting pregnant with twins.

A special thanks to everyone who's laid eyes, read, and supported the blog! Especially to the international readers!!! And with these last words, I will ring in the New Year of all-new posts and the blog's first anniversary!

Happy Holidays, New Year, and weekend!


Maria.

POST#48: ONE DIRECTION :)

Hey! Today we're talking about One Direction, one of my favorite music artists. They are hot, and they sing really good!!!! One Direction is an English-Irish boyband, made up of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Liam Payne. They were formed in The X Factor UK and finished in third place, afterwards, they signed to Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records. They have released two albums, Up All Night and Take Me Home, have broken several records, topped the charts in several countries, and released lots of chart-topping hit singles like "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Live While We're Young". They've sold over 15 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. They have appeared on Saturday Night Live, iCarly, and more. My favorite members are Zayn, Liam and Harry! 

From L-R: Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson

Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#47: TEMPLE RUN!!!!

Hi guys! Today we're talking about Temple Run, one of my FAVE apps on the face of the Earth!!!! I love Temple Run!!!!!
Temple Run is an endless, freemium (free) game app by Imangi Studios. The player takes the role of an explorer that attempts to steal an idol from a temple and is being chased by "demonic monkeys". Temple Run is about a group of wandering explorers, where one of the characters, controlled by the player, that steals an idol from an ancient temple and is caught and chased by malevolent monkeys out of the temple, creating a "temple run". The player swipes up and down to dodge obstacles, left or right to turn directions, upward to jump, and tilts sideways to collect coins which they can use to buy in-game power ups and characters. The characters that you can buy with the in-game coins are:

Guy Dangerous, "just your average explorer" (default explorer)

Scarlett Fox, "a cunning escape artist" (10,000 coins)

Barry Bones, "a city cop with attitude" (10,000 coins)

Karma Lee, "the fastest legs in the Far East" (25,000 coins)

Montana Smith, "the second greatest explorer ever" (25,000 coins)

Francisco Montoya, "the conquistador" (25,000 coins)

Zack Wonder, "football star" (25,000 coins)

There is no finish line and the objective is to run as far as possible. There is also a "Temple Run: Brave"  game for .99 cents on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

My condolences and prayers to the families of the victims of today's Newtown, Conneticut elementary school shooting. 

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#46: PINTEREST!!!!!!

Hi! Today we're talking about Pinterest. I LOVE Pinterest!!!! Pinterest is a pinboard- style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing. Founded by Ben Silbermann (of West Des Moines, Iowa), Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp, the site is managed by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of entrepreneurs and inventors. Pinterest is similar to earlier social, image bookmarking systems based on the same principle, such as David Galbraith's 2005 project Wists. It allows users to save images and categorize them on different boards. They can follow other users' boards if they have similar tastes. Popular categories are travel, cars, film, humor, home design, sports, fashion, and art.

Development of Pinterest began in December 2009, and the site launched as a closed beta in March 2010. The site proceeded to operate in invitation-only open beta

Happy weekend!

Maria..

POST#45: MICROSOFT STORE :)

Hello, my peeps! Today we're talking about the new Microsoft Store in the Plaza Las Americas mall in San Juan, Puerto Rico: 

The Microsoft Store is a chain of retail stores and an online shopping site, owned and operated by Microsoft and dealing in computers, computer software and consumer electronics. The stores aim to "improve the PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience for consumers worldwide and help consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases.

The Microsoft Store offers Signature PCs and tablets like the Microsoft Surface and from third parties such as HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and Sony without demos or trialware (pre-installed free trials of certain third-party software that expire after a limited time). It also offers Windows (most retail versions), Microsoft Office, mobile devices running the Windows Phone OS, Xbox 360 game consoles, games and services including on-site Xbox diagnostics. The Answers Desk helps to answer questions related to Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products. The stores also offer class sessions as well as individual appointments.

The first two Microsoft Stores opened within a week of the Windows 7 launch, in Scottsdale, Arizona and Mission Viejo, California. Additional stores have since opened in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Washington. At the 2011 Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that they intend to open 75 new stores in the next three years.

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#44: iCarly's OVER :(

So, we're ending the week on a sad note. It's
because one of my beloved shows, iCarly, ended today. It's gonna be a short post, by the way. I definitely cried a lot, because, obviously, it ended it's amazing run of 109 episodes, and there would be no new episodes to look foward to on Saturdays. But, it was an amazing, creative, awesome, and funny show, but, sadly it had to end sometime. I praise Dan Schneider, for creating two of my favorite and awesome shows in the whole entire world, iCarly and VICTORiOUS. Oh, I almost forgot something. Dan, this is the BEST show you have ever created, followed by Victorious. 

Have a happy holiday weekend! 

Maria.

POST#43: CAPITALS OF THE WORLD!!!

Hey! So yesterday, I participated in a competition where you had to recite capitals of the world. So, it had 30 kids from schools all around the municipality and the schools had to send at least one kid (if they found someone willing to do it) from 4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade. My school sent a kid (he's called Diego) from 6th and me (5th). The competition took place in The School of San Juan's ampitheatre and the kids were so smart and only 10 had been eliminated by round 16, they decided that with the other 16, they decided that they would use a reserve list of capitals, because the others ran out and anyone who was left after that round would win first place, and fifty dollars, and me and the other kid finished first place, along with 11 other kids. The photo to the right is, from left to right, my Social Studies teacher, me, and my partner in the competition.

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#42: I'M IN THE HOSPITAL :(

This week's gonna be a short post since I'm currently blogging from the hospital :-(

I'm stuck here because I have an infection on my lower lip and my doctor thought it would be a good idea to keep me in for observation. I'm sad because I'm in the hospital but I brought enough things to keep me entertained. My first hospital dinner ever was not so bad (broiled chicken and potatoes). Right now I'm in the Emergency Room waiting for a room. The TV in the gurney next to mine has "La Comay" on :-( They already took my blood to run some labs and I have an IV with antibiotics going.

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#41: WRECK IT RALPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I'm gonna wreck it!" Hello gamers! That is the catchphrase of Ralph, an arcade video game villain turned into hero, who is overshadowed by Fix-It-Felix. Wreck-It Ralph is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 52nd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The film was directed by Rich Moore and scripted by Jennifer Lee and Phil Johnston. John Lasseter served as the executive producer. Wreck-It Ralph features the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch.

The film tells the story of the titular arcade game villain who rebels against his role as a villain and dreams of becoming a hero. He befriends Vanellope von Schweetz and ultimately must eliminate a dire threat that could affect the entire arcade, and one that Ralph may have inadvertently started. Wreck-It Ralph had its world premiere on October 29, 2012, and was released on November 2, 2012 in the United States. At night when Litwak's Arcade closes, the various video game characters congregate in Game Central Station. I'm not going to tell anything more because then I'm going to spoil it! 

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#40: PIZZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, people of the world! So, we're talking about pizza. Let's face it, we've all eaten it at least once in our lives, and it's delicious! It's so good that on (almost) all Wednesdays, we do pizza night! Ok, so pizza is an oven-baked, flat, round bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings. Pizza was originally invented in Naples, Italy and the dish has since become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria". Many varieties of pizza exist worldwide, along with several dish variants based upon pizza. In 2009, upon Italy's request, Neapolitan pizza was safeguarded in the European Union as a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed dish. Some mass produced pizzas by food chains have been criticized as having an unhealthy balance of ingredients. Some studies have linked consumption of the antioxidant lycopene, which exists in tomato products that are often used on pizza, as having a beneficial health effect. Modern pizza originated in Italy as the Neapolitan pie with tomato. In 1889, cheese was added. In 1889, during a visit to Naples, Queen Margherita of Italy was served a pizza resembling the colors of the Italian flag, red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and green (basil). This kind of pizza has been named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita. During the latter half of the 20th Century, pizza become a globally accessible dish, mainly due to Italian immigrants that had brought their dishes to new people with resounding success, often in racially and culturally resistive environments. So, what do you think? Is pizza delicious?

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#39: HALLOWEEN!!!!

Hello, fellow zombies! So, Halloween is near, and EVERYONE is putting up creepy Halloween decorations, Halloween wreaths on their doors and probably buying candy, treat bags, costumes and party planning for Halloween. Well, today I bought my costume, when did you buy your costume? So, want to know how Halloween started? Well, here you got some information! It's origin is from 16th century Scotland. Though the origin of the word Halloween is Christian, the holiday is commonly thought to have pagan roots. Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the fruit called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which comes from the Old Irish for "summer's end". Samhain (pronounced sah-win or sow-in) was the first and most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Gaelic (Irish, Scottish and Manx) calendar. Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. Held on or about 31 October–1 November, it marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. This was a time for stock-taking and preparing for the cold winter ahead; cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered. In much of the Gaelic world, bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them. Some of these rituals hint that they may once have involved human sacrifice. Samhain was seen as a time when the 'door' to the Otherworld opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings such as fairies, to come into our world. The souls of the dead were said to revisit their homes on Samhain. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. It has thus been likened to a festival of the dead. Lewis Spence described it as a "feast of the dead" and "festival of the fairies". People took steps to protect themselves from harmful spirits, which is thought to have led to the custom of guising. Divination games or rituals were also done at Samhain. Kindred festivals were held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example the Byronthic Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany).

The origins of Halloween are impressive, eh?

Happy (early) Halloween!

Maria.

POST#38: THE HUNGER GAMES!!!!!

So, today we're talking about "The Hunger Games". I'm reading it right now (I got the boxed set with all three books for my birthday) and it's an awesome book! I'm as crazy for it as I would be if I was a "Harry Potter" fan! Too bad I can't see the movie for a good while, I'm just too young to see it.... So I'm on page 115, I just started a couple of days ago (I devour books and am a fast reader)..... So "The Hunger Games " is about a sixteen-year-old girl called Katniss Everdeen, living with her mother and her sister Primrose "Prim" Everdeen (her father died in a mine explosion when she was eleven), in the post-apocalyptic world called Panem, which has risen from the ruins of a destroyed North America. And there was a rebellion against the Capitol, the ruling city of Panem, called the "Dark Days. As a result, the Capitol created the Hunger Games, where each of the twelve districts is forced to pick one girl and one boy  between everyone who is from twelve to eighteen in the whole district in a reaping, where they have two glass balls, one for girls and one for boys, and they pick out the names randomly. Everyone in Panem is forced to watch the Games on their TV's. On this reaping day, Prim is called and Katniss volunteers for Prim, and the boy tribute is Peeta Mellark, who saved Katniss from starvation when they were eleven. They go in the Games, only to find out that there can be two victors from the same district if they both survived. Peeta got hurt in the leg, and Katniss helps him and nurses him, to find out that the rule was overturned so they have to kill one of them, but the rule was active again and they both won the Games.


I know it's a loooong story, but it's so good, that if you grab the book, first you will become a Hunger Games maniac, second you will decide if you're Team Peeta or Team Gale (I'm Team Peeta), and third when you grab the book, you will not let it go and when the book grab you, it will not let go! By the way, this photo next to this is an assumed map of Panem.

Have a great weekend!

Maria.

POST#37: COSTCO!!!!!!!

Hello, fellow earthlings, blog followers! So today we are talking about retailing and warehouse chain giant, COSTCO. Here's some info if don't know what it is: COSTCO Wholesale was founded in 1983 by Jim Sinegal and Jeffery H. Brotman in Kirkland, Washington. It sells items in bulk (in large quantities), which makes it cheaper to buy. It stocks food, electronics, books, DVD's, CD's, clothes and even more things. The larger the quantity, the cheaper it is (except for electronics). You have to bring your own packaging or use the shipping boxes from the supplier, because, to reduce costs, they don't have plastic or paper bags, nor reusable, and COSTCO warehouses have skylights and food courts. It also has a wine and liquor section, pastry section, bakery section, deli, and butcher section and a rotisserie. 

So, there. Now go! (as Sofia Vergara would say).......

Have a great weekend!

Maria.

POST#36: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA!!!!

Hello, blog followers!!!!! Today was the opening day for "Hotel Transylvania" in movie theaters the U.S. . I wasn't too happy that the release date in Puerto Rico was in October 7..... But here's the main concept of the movie: Dracula (Adam Sandler) runs a hotel exclusively for monsters and it's his daughter Mavis' (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday and he invites all the monsters like Frankenstein (Kevin James), The Mummy (Cee Lo Green) and Bigfoot. Then a human, Johnny, falls head over heels for Mavis and Dracula is infuriated. I'm not going to tell any more because then I'm going to spoil it..... 

Happy weekend!!!

Maria.

POST#35: SCUBA DOGS BEACH CLEANUP!

So, hello fellow minions (pun intended :-p)!!!!! So, I'm on my school's Ecology Club (I'm a sucker for ANYTHING science or anything related to it except chemistry and physics :-D) and, obviously we do some kind of community service. And so, last Saturday we had a beach cleanup, sponsered by Scuba Dogs. 


I got a little group of my friends together because we had to clean up in groups. The beach we were assigned to was rather clean, because that beach is one of those that they clean everyday, but we got a a LOT of unnoticed trash, like little pieces of plastic bags and cigarette butts. In total, our bag weighed 5 pounds!!! We also saw two manatees!!! After the cleanup, I got in the water. And also, my birthday is on September 26!!!! Just a few days left!!!!


Have a good weekend!!!!

Maria.

POST#34: THE VOICE!!!!!

On Monday, The Voice started it's third season. Here's some info , just in case..... :

The Voice is an American reality show that premiered on April 26, 2011, on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol and is executive produced by Mark Burnett. It is part of an international series. The Voice immediately proved to be a hit for NBC and as of September 2012, the network is airing the third season. The second season premiered February 5, 2012, immediately following NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XVLI.

The series is part of The Voice franchise and is based on a similar competition format in the Netherlands entitled The Voice of Holland won by Ben Saunders. The first American series was hosted by Carson Daly, with Alison Haislip serving as the backstage and social networking correspondent. The winner received $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Republic. Daly and the entire judging panel returned for season two; however, Christina Milian replaced Haislip as the social media correspondent.

[edit]Format

Promotional photograph of the coaches

The series consists of three phases: a blind audition, a battle phase, and live performance shows. Four judges/coaches, all noteworthy recording artists, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the auditioner's performance (about one minute) to decide if he or she wants that singer on his or her team; if two or more judges want the same singer (as happens frequently), the singer has the final choice of coach.

Each team of singers is mentored and developed by its respective coach. In the second stage, called the battle phase, coaches have two of their team members battle against each other directly by singing the same song together, with the coach choosing which team member to advance from each of individual "battles" into the first live round. Within that first live round, the surviving acts from each team again compete head-to-head, with public votes determining one of two acts from each team that will advance to the final six, while the coach chooses which of the remaining three acts comprises the other performer remaining on the team.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants compete against each other in live broadcasts for the public's vote. The coaches have the power to save one contestant that had not received the public's vote that week. As of season two, these contestants would give a last chance performance to win their coach's save. However, in deciding who moves on to the final four phase, the television audience and the coaches have equal say 50/50. With one team member remaining for each coach, the contestants compete against each other in the finale where the outcome is decided solely by public vote.

The Voice was AWESOME!!!!

Have a good weekend!!!

Maria.

POST#33: KARA'S PARTY IDEAS

Hello fellow earthlings!!!! Today I'm talking about Kara's Party Ideas, a party planning website in which you can get anything anything and EVERYTHING party supplies. Here's how it all started: 

At a very young age, Kara Allen started planning birthday parties for her family & friends. Always planning a party in her head, Kara started KPI in January of 2009, as a creative outlet & place to post all of her many events. After only a few months, Kara’s followings & fans were soaring. Her creative mind, attention to detail & love for party styling became evident as her site grew quickly with clicks & viewers from across the globe. Kara has been featured on HGTV, numerous morning TV shows, The Party Dress Magazine, TLC, Parenting Magazine, The Rachael Ray Show & more.

Kara is excited to announce her new party idea show on the Online TV Network, My Craft Channel. Kara also recently signed a book deal with Cedar Fort Publishing. Her book, Kara’s Party Ideas, is scheduled to hit national bookstore shelves this October.

Kara’s Party Ideas.com is a huge online resource for thousands of party ideas. Its purpose is to inspire those who are planning parties around the world. On a daily basis, Kara showcases her favorites of the hundreds of party submissions she receives each month. In addition to featuring her own events, Kara shares these parties styled by others to increase the number of creative ideas available on KPI… plus, let’s face it, some of the party submissions are just too amazing NOT to share!

Kara’s Party Ideas also just opened its very own party supply shop, making KPI literally ‘THE place for all things party’!

Kara & her loving husband, Ben, along with their three little boys- Kaden {5}, Gavin {5} & Easton {1}, live in Utah.

Here's the link to the blog, which has a link to the shop: http://karaspartyideas.com/

Have a great weekend!

Maria.

POST#32: AGT!!!!!!

Hey!!! So, today we are talking about America's Got Talent!!!

America's Got Talent (also known as AGT) is an American reality television series on the NBC Television Network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of one million dollars. The show debuted in June 2006 for the summer television season. From season three onwards, the prize includes the one million dollars, payable in a financial annuity over 40 years (or the present cash value of such annuity), and a show as the headliner on the Las Vegas Strip.

Among its significant features were that it gave an opportunity to talented amateurs or unknown performers, with the results decided by an audience vote. The format is a popular one and has often been reworked for television in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The current incarnation was created by Simon Cowell, and was originally due to be a 2005 British series called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent^[2] but was postponed due to O'Grady's acrimonious split with broadcaster ITV (later launching as Britain's Got Talent). As such, the American version became the first full series of the franchise. Despite Cowell's involvement in the show's production, his contract with FOX for his involvement which prevented him from being involved in the show as a judge. After leaving American Idol however, Cowell began to produce and judge a version of The X Factor for Fox in 2011.

Have a good weekend!!!!

Maria.

POST#31: THE BIG BANG THEORY!

Hi! It's Maria, your info provider of urban and AWESOME things! So today we are talking about the famous TV show "The Big Bang Theory". So, who's your favorite character from the show? Leave a comment saying who's your favorite, why do you like him or her, who plays the character, and your Facebook or Twitter name, and the first 10 who comment gets a shout out from me on Twitter AND Facebook! Anyway, I am putting my top 30 episodes that I love:


1."The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification"
2."The Large Hadron Collider Collision"
3."The Einstein Approximation"
4."The Bozeman Reaction" 
5."The Vengeance Formulation"
6."The Adhesive Duck Deficiency"
7."The Pirate Solution"
8."The Gothowitz Deviation"
9."The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation"
10."The Monopolar Expedition"
11."The Vegas Renormalization"
12."The Terminator Decoupling"
13."The Cushion Saturation"
14."The Maternal Capacitance"
15."The Friendship Algorithm"
16."The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis"
17."The Vartabedian Conundrum"
18."The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem"
19."The Pork Chop Indeterminacy"
20."The Bat Jar Conjecture"
21."The Middle-Earth Paradigm"
22."The Nerdvana Annihliation"
23."The Peanut Reaction"
24."The Jerusalem Duality"
25."The Luminous Fish Effect"
26."The Excelsior Acquisition" 
27."The Precious Fragmentation"
28."The Wheaton Recurrence"
29."The Robotic Manipulation"
30."The 21-Second Excitation"

So, there you go! My top 30!

Have a good weekend!

Maria.

POST#30: GABBY DOUGLAS!!!!!

On this edition of my blog, we are talking about America's new sweetheart, gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics in London, Gabby Douglas! This is her bio:

Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas was born on December 31, 1995 in Virginia Beach, Virginia to parents Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins. She has three siblings. She began training in gymnastics at age six when her older sister, Arielle, convinced their mother to enroll her in gymnastics classes. Douglas began her training under the supervision of coach Dena Walker at Excalibur Gymnastics in Virginia Beach. At the age of eight, Douglas won the Level 4 all-around gymnastics title at the 2004 Virginia State Championships. Douglas and her teammates, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber (nicknamed the "Fierce Five"), won the team all-around gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She then won the gold medal in the individual all-around, becoming the first African-American woman, as well first woman of color of any nationality, to win the event. She is also the first American gymnast ever to win both the team and individual all-around gold at the same Olympics. Douglas finished eighth in uneven bars, which was last among the finalists, and seventh in balance beam. On August 3, the Kellogg Company announced that it would feature a picture of Douglas standing on the podium with her gold medal on special-edition boxes of Corn Flakes in the fall. This breaks the tradition of Olympic athletes appearing on Wheaties boxes. Douglas appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where she spoke to Leno and fellow guest U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, a health advocate, about a post-Olympics celebratory purchase of an Egg McMuffin from McDonalds.

So there you go, America's sweetheart and her road to superstardom!

Have a great weekend!

Maria.

POST#29: SCHOOL

So, yesterday was the first day of school for me. I know, it's a bummer that summer is over, right? I started fifth grade and it's pretty great. My teachers are really nice, I got my friends, so I think it's going to be great. I do think that the teachers are going to pile on the books, homework, schoolwork, projects and all that stuff, for sure. I also bought my school supplies, the textbooks and, most importantly, my backpack. 

So, yup, that's me in my uniform.....

Have a great weekend!!!

Maria.

POST#28: STEP UP REVOLUTION AND THE FAB FIVE!

Yesterday, I saw the new move Step Up Revolution, the fourth movie in the Step Up series of movies that started in 2006. The first two movies were set in Baltimore, Maryland. Then, the third movie was set in NYC, New York City. And now, this fourth movie is set in the colorful city of Miami, Florida, In the Spring Gardens neighborhood to be exact. It is about Sean, a restaurant waiter who has his own dance crew that organizes flash mobs, called "The MOB", hence the name. I'm not going to tell anymore because I don't want to spoil it, but it was awesome!. Everyone has to see it! 





On a totally different subject, The USA's Women's Gymnastics Team, also known as "The Fab Five", made of Gabby "The Flying Squirrel" Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Jordyn "Jo" Wieber, Kyla Ross, and Alexandra "Aly" Raisman, won the gold medal in the London 2012 Olympics Artistic Gymnastics Team Competition. Also, Gabby Douglas won a gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition, the silver and bronze medal belonging to Russia, Aly Raisman barely missing the bronze medal. 


Have a great Olympic weekend!!!


Maria.

POST#27: LONDON 2012!!!!!

Hello and welcome to the up to the minute (I guess I have to do half today and half tomorrow :( )

coverage of the London 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony! I'll update it to the minute! (EST TIME ZONE USA)


7:30: Olympic Ceremony begins.
7:46: Ryan Seacrest interview with USA Gymnastics Team breakout stars Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas.
7:53: Official countdown begins.
7:56: Tour of the U.K.'s 4 countries commences.
7:59: Danny Boyle's unique Opening Ceremony artistic piece, "Isles of Wonder", commences.
8:16: Olympic rings are up in the sky.
8:21: James Bond short film starts.
8:25: Your Highness Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive and the Union Jack flag arrives.
8:27: The U.K. flag is hoisted up on the flagpole and the national anthem is sung.
8:34: National Health Service is honored.
8:37: J.K. Rowling speaks.
8:38: Captain Hook, He-who-shall-not-be-named (Voldemort), Cruella de Vil, and 
Mary Poppins appear and start to act.
8:45: Mr. Bean starts to play "Chariots of Fire".
8:59: London's Music History Tour starts.
9:12: Tim Berners-Lee types a message to the audience.
9:14: David Beckham cruises along the River Thames.
9:18: Ryan Seacrest interviews Michael Phelps, 8-gold medalist in the 2008 Olympics and athlete in the US Swimming team.
9:23: The Nations Parade begins with Greece.
9:25: Afghanistan, Alberia, and Algeria come in. 
9:26: American Samoa, Andorra.
9:27: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda.
9:28: Argentina, Armenia.
9:29: Aruba, Australia.
9:31: Austria.
9:34: Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados.
9:35: Belgium, Belize, Benin,  
9:36: Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia.
9:37: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana.
9:38: Brazil, British Virgin Islands. 
9:41: Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia.
9:42: Cameroon, Canada.
9:43: Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic.
9:44: Chad, Chile.
9:45: China.
9:49: Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivore, Cuba.
9:50: Cyprus, Czech Republic.
9:51: North Korea, Democratic Republic of The Congo.
9:52: Denmark, Djibouti. 
9:53: Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador.
9:54: Egypt, El Salvador.
9:57: Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji.
9:58: Finland, Macedonia, France.
9:59: Gabon. 
10:00: Gambia, Georgia, Germany.
10:01: Ghana. 
10:02: Grenada.
10:05: Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras.
10:06: Hong Kong, Hungary.
10:07: Iceland, Independent Olympic Athletes.
10:08: India, Indonesia, Iran.
10:09: Iraq, Ireland, Israel.
10:10: Italy.
10:13: Jamaica, Japan, Jordan.
10:15: Kazakhastan, Kenya.
10:16: Kiribati, South Korea.
10:20: Kuwait, Kyrgystan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechenstein, Lithuania.
10:21: Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia.
10:22: Maldives, Mali.
10:23: Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius.
10:24: Mexico, Micronesia. 
10:27: Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru.
10:28: Nepal, Netherlands.
10:29: New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger.
10:30: Nigeria, Norway, Oman.
10:31: Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama.
10:35 : Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal.
10:36: Puerto Rico, Qatar.
10:37: Romania, Russia.
10:38: Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
10:42: Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles.
10:43: Sierra Leone, Singapore.
10:44: Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands.
10:45: Somalia, South Africa, Spain.
10:47: Sri Lanka, Sudan.
10:48: Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden.
10:49: Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria.
10:50: Chinese Taipei.
10:53 : Tajikstan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo.
10:55: Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia.
10:56: Turkey, Turkmenistan.
10:57: Tuvalu, Uganda.
10:58: Ukraine.
11:02: United Arab Emirates, United States of America.
11:05: Uruguay, Uzbekiztan. 
11:06: Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam.
11:07: Virgin Islands, Yemen.
11:08: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Great Britain.


And there I conclude my special edition post! I'll update tomorrow anything that comes up :)!


Have a great Olympic weekend!

Maria.