Vacation!

It is school vacation week here! That normally means a week full of big ideas of what you would like to accomplish and do- and by the end of the week you have done none of them! But not this time! I am going to spend my week being productive... Or at least I am going to keep telling myself that... :)

I do know for a fact a that today I am going up to Jericho, Vermont to visit the Snowflake Bentley Museum... Fun right? :) Ok well I am a self proclaimed nerd and ever since I heard about this guy in kindergarten I have been fascinated! I loved the idea of taking picture of the snow- or maybe it was just all the snow itself! (I also cannot get enough of the snow). And when we had to choose a topic in History to write a 10 page paper on, I jumped at the chance to write about this dude. He lived a pretty cool and inspirational life. So today I am going to go up to his hometown and go to the one room museum... hopefully the grade on the paper makes the 3+ hour trip worth it.

What am I going to do for the rest of the week you ask? Well I have no idea! I might sew a maxi skirt... or I might play with my perlers (more on this unhealthy obsession later...), or I may read....

What should I be doing? I should be writing that 10 page paper or writing the lab report that will be due next week... and I probably should also work on all those Latin verbs I keep forgetting... But I seriously doubt any of these things are going to happen... well I doubt that most of the first list will get done too :)

~sarah

Book Review: Good Girls Don't Have to Dress Bad

Wow- that was one long hiatus! I cannot believe neither Sonja nor I have blogged in months! Things have been crazy, and I plan to blog more regularly now that school is winding down!

So the other day after staring at it on Amazon for almost a year, I did it... I bought Shari Braendel's book. I found it cheaper on iBooks and I convinced myself that it was ok to spend the money and strain my eyes (I was reading it on my iPhone)- I was sure that the material was worth it. And it was. I was not in LOVE with the book... but I enjoyed it.

Shari wrote this book to help other Christian Woman dress better. Now I know what you are thinking... God doesn't care what we look like on the outside- this is what I thought too. And then I read Shari's book and I have to say her argument it quite good. God wants us to to be walking billboards for HIM! So why should we only wear t-shirts and jeans? We should dress cute and love the body He gave us!

Shari saw the need in the church and began her ministry. I have learned different things about my body through this book. She teaches how to determine your body type and what colors and clothing looks good on you. This book is awesome because not only does it offer fashion advice but it does it with a Christian Twist. We need to love the body God gave us! He thinks we look good and cute and we need to think so too!

I personally loved the last chapter of the book on Modesty. I am a big advocate for helping this generation learn what is Modest and how what we dress affects our Brothers in Christ. Shari's blunt approach is just the wake-up call we all need. (If you want to read more about modesty, I recomend this AMAZING lady!)

God made you beautiful because He is beautiful! Embrace your Beauty!

~Sarah

What books have you read lately? I am always looking for suggestions!

I was not asked to write this review and did not receive this book for free. I bought this book with my own money and wrote this with my real opinions because I think this is an important message to share.

Duct Tape Flower #3 Tutorial

Here is another Duct Tape Flower Tutorial for you to enjoy! The center of this flower is exactly the same as our tutorial for A Small Duct Tape Rose, so if you know how to make that- then you will be golden when you make these!


What you Need:
Duct Tape
Wire
Wire Cutters
Scissors
Cutting Mat or Ruler

                                                                         Step 1:

Measure out a strip of Duct Tape 8 inches long 

Step 2:

Cut the tape in half so that you have 2 strips of 8 inches

Step 3: 

Cut about 1 inch by 1 inch squares from the 2 strips of tape

Step 4

Flip the a square over and fold one corner down so that you have an "L" of sticky side remaining

Step 5:

 Fold down the other corner so that you have a triangle with a base of exposed adhesive 

Step 6:

Continue doing this to all of your squares

Step 7:

Take one of your triangles and roll it so that it forms a cylinder shape. 

 

Step 8:

Begin to add the rest of the triangles onto your center. (Please excuse the awful looking nails- I almost went and repainted them just so that I could take this photo...but i didn't)

Step 9:

Add the remaining Petals/triangles on to get a small rose.

Step 10:

Set your center rose aside and cut 5 strips of tape about 7 inches long 

Step 11:

Cut 5 pieces of wire about 3 1/2 inches long and place one at the base of each strip of tape

Step 12:

Fold the tape in half over the wire- Your Edges do not need to be pretty as you will cut them next 

Step 13:

Cut a petal shape out of the duct tape leaving some adhesive at the bottom. Attach the petals to your center rose.

TADA! :) 

I hope your flowers turn out FANTASTIC! Feel free to send us photos or comments of how yours turned out! We would love to see them! 

~Sarah

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Spaztastic Sisters, Sarah and Sonja!

Difference in Mediums

The way a piece of literature is presented greatly effects the way it is interpreted and the way that it received. A movie may receive higher publicity than a book, but if the book is the original way the story was meant to be shared, then it is usually the better one to look into. This is evidentiary true with the book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

A Christmas Carol has been made into so many movies, musicals, and plays that it is hard to count them all. All of them have a slightly different approach to the story line, which affects the way it is received. For example, Disney came out with a movie version of the book in 2009 called, A Christmas Carol when that version is compared to the book there are some major differences that stand out.

In this film adaptation and most others, there is artistic freedom that is took to make this version stand out from the others. These spouts of artistic freedom vary from movie to movie, which is to be expected. In this specific version, the artistic freedom takes place in the form of the way the changed Scrooge is portrayed. As the audio stays very close to that of the books, the visual portrayal of the changed Scrooge is different. The changed Scrooge in the 2009 version is quite more animated then the way the book has him. In the movie, he slides across rooftops, dances with the housekeeper, and slides down the street holding on to the back of a carriage was all fabricated and was created to make the movie more appealing to the audience. This effects the telling of the story by giving the reader an already implied idea of what Scrooge was like as a changed man, even though the book does not specifically tell us it exactly.

The 1992 version of A Christmas Carol- The Muppet Christmas Carol, takes artistic freedom by making the movie a musical and adding a comedic twist to the original plot. These twist from the movie effect the telling of the story because they are adding into what Charles Dickens originally wrote and slowly are going away from what he intended the readers to understand.

When something is presented in a different medium then what is was intended things are perceived differently. Charles Dickens wrote the story as a book and in the book was all the content that you need to interpret the story for yourself. When a book is transformed into a movie, the interpretation is done for you and there is not much left for you to analyze and make your own realizations and theories. The movie directors and writers do that for you, which is why most people tend to like to watch a movie rather than read a book because watching a movie requires a less substantial amount of thinking and analyzing when compared to reading. When you are reading you are free to make your own ideas about a character without anyone else’s preset notions about what they think who the character is, whereas in a movie you have someone else visual portrayal in front of you and that normally clouds your own thinking because they have already done that. In both movie versions of A Christmas Carol Scrooge is shown for you, but in the book, you have no visual, physical picture of what Charles Dickens was thinking when he wrote it, rather it is up to you to picture Ebenezer Scrooge for yourself with only the facts that Mr. Dickens gives us.

The way that a story is presented truly affects the way the story is told and the way it is received. Do you agree? Leave a Comment with your thoughts

Hoilday Decorating

It's December! And that means that is time for Decking the Halls and Spreading some good old Holiday Cheer! Our family started off by picking out our Christmas Tree, well I picked it out, on December 1st. Sonja was off meeting Aly Raisman... I guess I can see how that trumps Christmas Tree Decorating for some- but not for this girl! (A side note- I love Aly and the Fab Five and if I had better knees- I would have gone- I just like giving Sonja a hard time) 

We had our tree all decorated and Christmas Cookies were baked by the end of the day! I felt so productive! Then on December 8 we did the same thing at our Dad's house! It was a blast! We had a dance Party and Sing-A-Long while baking. Ryan and I sang Good Time by Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City. It was an awesome day! 

How is your Holiday Season Going? Have you got a tree yet?

~Sarah

Freebies and Samples

I started posting pictures on Facebook of many of the items I was getting for free (like the photo below) - and that generated some questions on how I got these things. I thought I would answer these questions once with this blog post.

I began my interest in receiving free items a few years ago- but never to the extent that I am involved in it now. About two months ago I saw this post on Pinterest. I got all excited- as what teenager doesn't love coupons! I started off by sitting down one Sunday afternoon and sending emails to everyone of those companies which my family uses. Out of those 30 or so emails I got 3 coupons. Now that I think about it- that is not a great odd- however I was very excited. I began to research if there were other things I could get coupons for or even for free.

I quickly found a few websites that have become my go-to resources for learning about freebies and samples. I use Vonbeau, My Free Product Samples, Freebie Shark, and I Crave Freebies. I do not have the time or the skill to go and search the Internet to find my own freebies, so I use these as my guides. I get so excited when I find an awesome new freebie or deal! I am working on the rest of my family- they tend to just role their eyes.

After I began and started ordering samples after samples- I lost track of what I was ordering and from where. That is when Genius Me decided it would be a brilliant idea to start a spreadsheet. Now this spreadsheet stays open at the bottom of my computer screen and I love to go and look at it often! I get so excited seeing what I may get next! So far I have reached row 78 so I will have a boat load of stuff coming in soon!

I also am a member of Swagbucks, Recyclebank, and Smiley 360. I love Swagbucks and Recyclebank! I am very new to Smiley 360- so when I get more equipped with it I will let you know how it is! With Swagbucks I have earned 2 $5 Amazon Gift Cards for free! Using Recyclebank, I have earned 1 magazine subscription and am close to getting another Amazon Gift Card! :) Both are TOTALLY FREE! What is better than that?! :)

I think that is all I have to say about my freebies and samples. One Tip I leave you with is- make a separate email account so that you do not have all these emails in your personal account! I have found this an easy way to separate the things I will read first from the things that I can read later! If you have any questions, or comments, or you have personally received free items, Let me know by leaving a comment or sending us an email!

~Sarah

Blogging

I love blogging- but you probably cannot tell because I rarely do it... Why do I rarely do it? Because using my computer is a huge hassle! As simple as that- I have so many pictures on my computer and I don't have room for more- plus using my iPhone is SO much easier! But to be frank- the blogger app STINKS! :) I can't edit where the pictures go, where the text is, the layout- and there is also this annoying little icon that covers up words... Bad layout! Any suggestions for a better app?

-Sarah

Fourth of July Tip!

So you get up early and set your blankets out in the best place possible to watch the fireworks, you come back 10 hours later and the wind has blown your blankets in a pile behind a tree. What do you do? I don't know about your town but in ours, you can't use stake or rocks to hold down your blanket to watch the fireworks.

Last year as we rushed out early in the morning to get our spot, we saw one family had a brilliant idea! Take water bottles, the ones you can recycle/throw away, and fill them with water- put food coloring in them so people don't think they are trash, and put them on the corners of the blanket- when you come back later remove them and recycle or throw them out and your blanket has stayed put! Hallelujah! No longer dodging a tree to see the spectacular fireworks!

Happy 4th!,
Sarah

Happy Day

Tomorrow is the last day of school for me- Sonja has been out for a while- and that means more posts! I already have a lot of ideas!! But today I wanted to share something that made me really happy today- I did a split! You most won't understand why I am so excited... So I will tell you. I have been out of gymnastics for about 3 years now and I just tried to do one and it was almost perfect. So that is my happy moment today. Check out the picture...

Sarah