POST#104: SECOND ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Hey guys! Today's post marks the second anniversary of the blog! Thanks to all my readers and supporters who pass on the blog to their friends and family members. As a result, my blog has been read in several countries, including the US, Russia, Latvia, Germany, Malaysia, the UK, France, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Mexico, and of course, Puerto Rico. 

For the past 104 consecutive weeks, you've read all about my adventures, thoughts, and the occasional review. And the thing is, I am extremely surprised that people from other countries are actually interested in a girl from a little island who happens to have a blog. I mean, I don't know how the heck it gets into countries where neither me or my family know anybody. 

I started this as an experiment, expecting that I would get tired of it really fast, but soon I realized that I liked doing it, and proposed myself a goal of blogging every Friday night, at least until I reached two years, and here I am ;) At first it was easy, because the blog was new and I had lots of ideas, but for the past few months it has been a little more difficult because trying to keep my readers interested, finding something to write about AND dealing with some problems (won't reveal them) hasn't been that easy. I still get overwhelmed when I see the blog's stats every week. 

Thank you to all my readers and supporters! I will be taking a break to focus a bit more on school and just chill out a little more, but I'll be back with new ideas and surprises :) Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you get notified whenever I publish a post! If you have any questions about any of my posts, how I come up with them or have some ideas on what I should write, feel free to comment, I will be checking and replying to the comments :)



Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#103: W RETREAT AND SPA - VIEQUES :)

The beach at the hotel...

Hey guys! Today I'm writing from the W Hotel in Vieques Island! I've been staying here since Monday and I check out tomorrow (Saturday). And now you're probably asking yourself how I got in this REALLY EXPENSIVE hotel, right? Well, Dad travels a lot (business travel) and always tries to stay in Starwood Hotels. The Starwood Hotel Line includes different hotels like the Sheraton and the W, and the more Dad stays in those hotels, the more points he gets as a reward. Eventually you can redeem them for stuff, including hotel stays. So, Dad had a crazy amount of points on his account and he redeemed them for this hotel stay, that means we're basically staying here for free ;) . Our room is an ocean view with two Queen size beds, flat screen TV, DVD player, mini fridge, and a balcony. The hotel has a fire pit, two pools (one is an infinity pool), a private beach, a spa, a fully stocked bar, a restaurant, etc. We rented a car and went around the island (it's tiny, about 21 miles long and 4 miles wide) beach-hopping. We went to Media Luna, Caracas Beach (Red Beach), Sun Bay, and La Chiva Beach (Blue Beach). We also went kayaking at the Bioluminiscent Bay (Mosquito Bay or Puerto Mosquito). Oh, and we went exploring through the middle of the island and found a couple of the old bunkers the US military built when they occupied most of the island from 1941-2003. If you're in Vieques, go to the Bio Bay. It's AWESOME, one of only 5 Bio Bays left in the world (Puerto Rico hosts three of them), and the only one left that's completely pristine. Vieques in general is awesome :)



Happy weekend!



Maria.

POST#102: TINY DEATH STAR!

Hey guys! Today we're discussing Tiny Death Star! Tiny Death Star is a Star Wars themed game in which you help Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine reconstruct their Death Star by building civilian levels on top of Imperial levels so the revenue earned by civilians funds the evil plans of the Sith. There are 5 types of different civilian levels: Residential, Food, Retail, Recreation, and Service, and then obviously there are the Imperial levels. When you first download the app, you are assigned missions to start your Death Star, and then you set off on your own. You use the Coins (or Imperial Credits) to buy levels and stock inventory, and you use the Imperial Bux to accelerate construction or stocking times, summon supply officers to the Imperial levels, or convert them to Credits. Then the VIP's start to appear. A VIP is a special person helps you complete a task, for example, the Recruiting Officer fills up a Residential level and a Supply Officer helps an Imperial level produce its inventory of Rebel Secrets, for example. You can also unlock special characters like Luke Skywalker, Leia, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Yoda, Darth Vader, etc. I think Tiny Death Star is AWESOME! I already have 50 levels! The game is free and available on iOS, Android, the Amazon Appstore, and Windows Phone. My Dad and I are hooked on it :) 


For more info on Tiny Death Star, visit this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Tiny_Death_Star


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#101: CHRISTMAS!!!

My Christmas tree and presents :)

Hey guys! Happy Holidays! Today we're discussing Christmas :) . I almost couldn't sleep that night, and then I woke up at 11:00 a.m :P ... So, my presents were:

1. the Guinness Book of World Records
2. Pink Beats headphones :D         
3. an iTunes giftcard
4. 2 Amazon giftcards                      
5. Just Dance 2014
6. The Shade of The Moon (book) 
7. Despicable Me 2 
                                                     8. a spin-art making kit                     
                                                     9. Our Moment by One Direction <3
                                                   10. a gingerbread house making kit 


Santa was pretty awesome this year ;)  The night before (Christmas Eve), Mom made a delicious dinner spread of traditional foods (arroz con gandules, chuletas, and garlic bread) and before supper we had some finger food, like a mini party, but with my Mom, Dad, and myself only. I also went to visit my Grandma and washed the car for the first time, and I had fun :) Oh, and tomorrow I'm going to a wedding! And since this is the last post of the year, Happy New Year!



Happy weekend!



Maria.



                                                   

POST#100: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!

Hey guys! My last day of school was on Wednesday, and since it was a half day, me and my friends went out. First we ate pizza at Papa John's, and we were so loud, the clerk told us to shut up because she didn't hear the customers on the phone! After we ate, we went to the movies to see the new Thor movie (it was my second time seeing it but I fell asleep the first time :P), and since we got pretty early to the theater, we just pretty much monkeyed around the concession stand and the arcade. We bought our movie snacks, and we settled into our seat. Since almost everybody has seen it, and everyone wants to see the new Hobbit movie, we had the theater to ourselves. The movie was REALLY GOOD, and featured Loki a little bit more actually. 



Happy weekend!



Maria.                                                                                                                  

POST#99: DRAWING!!!

One of the many drawings ;)

Hey guys! Today we'll be talking about a drawing week long seminar that I'm taking. So the seminar is in a local comic book store called Mondo Bizarro, and is being taught by an animator who has worked with Pocahontas and Space Jam, Ivan Camilli. Cool, I know ;) So the seminar is three hours a day, Monday thru Friday (today) and also next Monday, for a total of 18 HOURS. He's teaching us how to develop characters from scratch and draw them like really rough, then adding the details and refining it. BTW, I'm the only kid in the class, the others are in their early 20s, late teens I think :P It's really awesome! 

Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#98: MATH BOWL!

Hey guys! Today I won 3rd place (along with a friend) at the school Math Bowl! And I'm not even that good at math! And also today I went to see The Book Thief at the movies today and it was really good :)



Happy weekend!



Maria.

POST#97: VICTORIA MOORS :)

Hey guys! Today we're turning to a topic that I almost never talk about because it's my guilty pleasure: gymnastics. So today I'll be talking about one of my favorite gymnasts, Victoria Moors from Canada. Probably haven't heard anything about her, huh? Well, let's see. Victoria Moors was born November 5, 1996 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. She also was part of the Canadian women's gymnastics team that placed an unexpected fifth place (not that it's bad, it's AWESOME!) in the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to perform a double twisting double layout in competition at the 2013 PanAmerican Senior Apparatus Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico (BTW, I witnessed it because I was there). She looves Nutella (so much I think she has it running through her veins :P), and also has a cat named Boston. I also had the pleasure to meet her at the 2013 PanAms here in PR (the same night she performed the double double layout for the first time in competition) and she's really cool and nice :)

Her Instagram: @victoriamoors_


Her Twitter: @VictoriaMoors


Double twisting double layout video: Victoria Moors Floor World Championships 2013 Antwerp AA (she has it named after her, therefore it's now called the Moors)


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#96: PUERTO RICAN FESTIVAL :)

Hey guys! Today was the Puerto Rican Festival at school, and the Dance Club (I'm officially a member) did a performance which included traditional dances, for example, bomba and a little bit of plena. There was also lots of rides and traditional foods. I go every year, and it's really AWESOME! 


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#95: RAINBOW LOOM!

Hey guys! Today we're talking about Rainbow Loom bracelets! The bracelets are the (dare I say because I don't know much about fashion) hottest trend right now, almost every kid in America knows what these bracelets are. I first saw the loom bands in a store here in PR, and they were supposed to be refill bands. I instantly thought of my friend Fabiola (aka Fabi, you'll sometimes be hearing about her in the blog), who makes these and actually made me one but it broke about two months ago, bummer :( I bought a couple of bags, then I proceeded to make a replica of the bracelet that Fabi made me. My friends at school liked it, and asked if they could have one. I then started to sell them at 75 cents per bracelet, but later I discovered that in the school you could not sell anything unless you are authorized by the principal to sell something. So I have a friend who's in a study group that's not affiliated with the school so he said that I could make the bracelets and he could sell them at his study group. So that's basically my addiction with Rainbow Loom ♡ :-P

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#94: ENDER'S GAME!!!

Hey guys! Today we're talking about the movie "Ender's Game"! Kids in space saving the world, you can't get any better than that. Without giving much away, this movie is a must-see. I saw it last Saturday and it was great! I went with my dad, and I got some popcorn and soda (fave movie snacks <3), and afterwards we went out to eat.

I am introducing a new rating system to the blog which will range from one to five, and it will use different symbols depending on the subject. So, without further a due  I give this movie *drum roll please*...


4 out of 5 Death Stars!!!



Fun fact: Did you know that the movie is based on the book "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card in 1985? It's 28 years old!!! I am currently considering reading the book (a bookworm can't pass up the chance :P)...


Happy weekend!



Maria.

POST#93: SPELLING BEE!!

Hey guys! Today I participated in my school's annual spelling bee. And guess who won... THIS GIRL!!!! Yeah, I won! So the bee was from 4th to 6th Grade, and the top three go to the Archdiocesan Spelling Bee in January. The prize for this (the school's) spelling bee... *drumroll* TWO FREE SCHOLASTIC BOOKS!!! Yeah, from the catalogs! Yay! So, obviously since I won that spelling bee, I qualified for the spelling bee in January. The top three were all from the same classroom, so I'm basically competing with my friends :D



Happy weekend!



Maria.

POST#92: MOON PIE!!!

Hey guys! Today we're taking a short break from the Disney World series and focus on the new member of my family, Moon Pie! She's a 2 month old pug dog  and a girl. She's a bundle of extreme cuteness, but she's a bit of a wild thing! When she plays, she doesn't play nice... Nooo, she claws at you, sometimes she bites you really really hard, so hard she can almost make you cry from the pain (that actually happened like twice), starts chewing on things, or starts running around the house really fast (it's REALLY funny). She can sometimes be a pain in the butt, but she's just sooo cute and adorable, you can't resist :P She actually sleeps with me in my bed...

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#91: DISNEY WORLD PART 5

Hey guys! Today it's the fourth installment in the Disney World series! And today we're visiting... *drumroll*... Universal Studios! So we drove to Universal, and after we parked, we entered. So the first ride we went on was E.T. It was awesome! I got to sit at the front where E.T's basket is! So after that we went to the Springfield U.S.A area, and it REALLY LOOKS LIKE SPRINGFIELD! We went to Moe's Tavern to eat some snacks and drink some sodas, and then we got on the Simpsons ride. IT WAS AWESOME!!! It felt like a roller coaster, but we weren't actually moving on a track, we were actually on a little car being controlled! Cool, I know. So after the Simpsons ride, we got on the Men In Black ride, and the set was pretty cool! It was the Alien HQ and there were doors that said "Fingerprint removal", "Break room", etc. We got on, you get on a moving car, got laser guns, and started shooting the aliens! I got a pretty good aim, but I somehow got a low score... After the MIB ride, we got on the "Disaster!" ride. It's like an acting set, where people actually get chosen to be part of a "film" (I was chosen to be a stunt woman), and then they show the film to you. I had to jump onto The Rock's arms (edited of course with a little Hollywood magic)! Then we went on the Transformers ride, which was AWESOME! I went on it not one, but TWO times! The Transformers fight right in your face! It's REALLY COOL. Then, we went on the Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem ride, and the posters they have about the Minions on the line area are really cool! When you enter the ride, it looks like you're inside Gru's house! Then you get on a little car that moves around with the Minions and the girls (Margo, Edith and Agnes♡) around their adventures in the ride. After the ride, there's the HUGE Despicable Me gift shop, in which you can get t-shirts, plushes like the Fluffy Unicorn and a giant Minion, and lots of other cool Despicable Me merchandise. After the ride, we moved onto Islands of Adventure, and got on the Spider-Man ride, and got on it TWO times! It was AWESOME and Spider-Man and his enemies fight right in your face! It's really cool! It was actually the only ride we got on from Islands of Adventure, because it was getting near closing time and we had to go. Universal Studios was really fun! I loved it!

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#90: DISNEY WORLD PART 4

Hey guys! Today it's the third installment of the Disney World series! So, the third day I went to the Kennedy Space Center! AWESOME, I know right? So we entered, and the first thing we did was go on the bus tour. It was recommended to take it as soon as you get there because it closes really early. We took the (awesome) bus tour to the museums that are a little bit far from the visitors center, then came back to the visitors center and visited the new ATLANTIS museum, where we saw the real Atlantis Space Shuttle! Yeah, the real one! We also got on a simulator to experience how little a tunnel in the ISS (International Space Station) can be. Then we got on a Space Shuttle launch simulator, in which you get a chance to experience a (fake, but very similar) space shuttle launch.
Then, it was really close to closing time, and we had to eat dinner, so we ate at a Cape Canaveral seafood and meat restaurant called Grillz, and the food was really good! KSC was AWESOME!

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#89: DISNEY WORLD PART 3

Hey guys! Today I'm telling you what I did in Magic Kingdom :) First we went to Tomorrowland, and then we went to Stitch's Great Escape. Then, we went to the AWESOMEST ROLLER COASTER EVER (I was nervous and I came out pumped!): Space Mountain!!! After that we stopped to rest a little bit and eat a snack, then we moved on to the Astro Orbiter. It gives you an awesome birds-eye view of Magic Kingdom. Then we moved on to Fantasyland, where we went on It's a Small World. It's awesome because it gives you a peek at the world's different cultures! Then we ate lunch, and then we went to Mickey's PhilarMagic. After that, we moved on to Frontierland, and got on another of the most AWESOMEST ROLLER COASTERS EVER: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! After Big Thunder, we got on Splash Mountain. You honestly don't get as wet as people tell so (just a little bit from the waist up), and you don't go directly into the big drop, you go through several little fake drops and an It's a Small World kind of ride, and at the end is when you go to the big drop. Then we entered Adventureland, and got on Pirates of The Caribbean, it's theme is Old San Juan's port! Anyway, after that we got on Aladdin's Carpet Ride, which is like the Astro Orbiter, but you go a little bit lower, and instead of a rocket, it's a magic carpet. After that, we returned to Main Street U.S.A. and ate dinner at Casey's Corner, which is a really good hot dog place. After we ate, we got our places for the projections they play at the castle (which, BTW, ARE AWESOME!), watched them, and then watched the (AWESOME and really impressive) fireworks. When the firework show finished, it was really late, so then we left and returned to our hotel.

Next week comes part 4 in the Disney World Trip Series! Beware!


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#88: DISNEY WORLD PART 2

Hey guys! Sorry, this is gonna be a short post :( I've been really busy and tired... I've gone to EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, Animal Kingdom, WonderWorks, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and today I'm going to Hollywood Studios :) I'll write a whole series about the vacation, so look out...

Happy weekend!

Maria.

POST#87: DISNEY WORLD!!!!

Hey guys! Today I went to Disney World in Florida!!!! My parents woke me up today at 3am to surprise me, and I literally jumped out of bed and ran to my closet to see what I would wear (we were leaving right to the airport). We got on a plane to Orlando, then we got off the plane and boarded a bus to Disney. We arrived to our room, relaxed a litte bit, and then we went to Downtown Disney to eat at House of Blues and to shop a litte bit. I'll give you more details on the next blogpost :-)


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#86: VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Hey guys! Today I went to my school's annual volleyball tournament. I was originally there just to serve my hour long volunteering shift, but I eventually stayed way after my shift because lots of my friends were there. It was AWESOME! By the way, I got in the Dance Club :-)


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#85: ANNE FRANK

Hey guys! Today we're talking about Anne Frank. The reason why I'm talking about her is because I'm learning about her in school.So who's Anne Frank? Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who lived during World War II and therefore the Holocaust. She was born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany and was 4 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party, a political party that hated Jews. It wasn't good news for the Franks, so they moved to Holland. They had a normal life there until Anne was about 12 when Hitler invaded Holland and started putting restrictions against Jews and sending them to concentration and extermination camps, thus starting the Holocaust. The Franks knew they had to go into hiding quickly. They went into hiding along
with the Van Pels family, which she changed the name to Van Daan in the diary, and later a man called Fritz Pfeffer, whom she called Mr. Dussel in her diary, for the next 18 months. They eventually were caught and sent to concentration camps. The only one who survived was Anne's dad, Otto Frank. Anne died of typhoid in 1944, just 2 weeks before the camp's liberation by British troops.

Happy weekend!

Maria.