A YouTube Blogger

This past week has been struggling and yet incredible. You know why? Because it's December; because it's that special holiday and time of season. Merry Christmas, everyone. And happy holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas. I know for a fact that there's more than two holidays in December. Look it up. Yesterday was the actual celebration of Christmas in my family. We don't open presents, or do the traditional breakfast before presents, unless our entire family is in town. My second sister lives in St. Louis and has the weirdest shift schedule. I'm so looking forward for her contract at SLU hospital to be over. Anyways, a lot of gifts and a lot of stuff in my stocking. The stocking stuffers we normally do at a relative's house on Christmas Eve; relatives from my dad's side of the family. I actually wrapped some of those items from my stocking and brought it to work on Friday. I'm looking forward to Monday and see an empty area of presents unde

I get to explain most of what happened last week. And in the process, I play some awesome music. I'm broadcasting live in 9 minutes! Listen in soon at http://tobtr.com/s/7194293. #BlogTalkRadio

It is weird to be coming home after such a fabulous trip. I can't wait to get my books published now. I plan to go on more cruises when that happens. There are so many wonderful and crazy things that happened. Keep an eye on my facebook page, Theesperanza243. I should be posting a lot of pics, and maybe a few videos. :) I'm so excited to do a video review for YouTube. 

Here I am, in the dining hall. Listening to my sister and her fiancé joke with our grandma. We are having a blast! The menu they have here is incredible. You oughta be here. Of course now I'm not paying attention. Cause my fingers are occupied; telling you what's happening. I just wanted to let you all know that Thanksgiving so far is pretty good. :) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Be thankful. Be kind to the Indians. Give them something. Cause we took more than necessary at the original, very first Thanksgiving dinner. 

I'm so excited about this month. As far as weather goes, November and December are my least favorite months. But for holidays and the little stuff, those two are my most favorite months. Here, I'll tell you why. Next week is my birthday, and also my grandma's and best friend's. Those two are on the same day. Me, grandma, and mom will be going somewhere special. Which is why I'm thrilled to be packing this week. Three times a week until Christmas Eve, I am rehearsing for a special treat on Christmas morning. Hopefully my family won't read this, so it can be a surprise. I will tell you what it is when Christmas Eve arrives. I'm excited about that too. Also, my radio show is getting four shows this week. Since I won't be available to do next week's, I'm making it up this week. Plus, I am determined to have an interview for this month, so I'm looking forward to that too. ^_^

I had the best time yesterday. My dad and his girlfriend took me to Forum 8. We got to see Big Hero 6. ^_^ It was definitely what I expected. For the villain though, I didn't realize who it was until they dragged the moment of when his mask ripped off. It couldn't have been the other dude. I mean, money is a pretty powerful motive, but there are others much more powerful. Even when one of the teammates played the footage, I knew something was off. My detective skills went haywire. I wanted to figure out who stole the microbots. I had to solve who was behind the mask. Did it surprise you when you found out who it was? Not me. For me, it made sense when I found out.

I've realized that, with the computer down, I couldn't do the Nancy Drew Challenge. But I can now that it's fixed and a different mouse for it. With that, I'm bringing up the list once more. There are a few games still not marked with movies. At the time, I had difficulty remembering. Since I'm doing the challenge again with the newest game Labrynth of Lies , I shall update this list as much as I can. Those that have the  OR  means I can choose either one, even if the main subject is only used for a small portion in the film. By the way, if you have any movie suggestions, you are welcome to post a comment. 10. The Secret of Shadow Ranch - Durango Kids OR A Pony Tale OR Holes 11. The Curse of Blackmoor Manor - The Secret Garden 12. Secret of the Old Clock - Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase (1939) 13. Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon - The Rocketeer 14. Danger by Design - Ratatouille 15. The Creature of Kapu Cave - Aloha Scooby Doo 16. The White Wolf of Icicle Cre

I have no excuse up until August. Since then, my computer has been down. It's working now, but the mouse isn't working. Today, I realized there could be an app to put on my iPod Touch. If I haven't told you, my boyfriend gave me that. He's been pampering me, spoiling me with gifts. I probably deserve them. But there are so many that I feel like I should be buying him gifts now. A shame too; I'm trying to save as much money as I can for December. Now what's happening in December is a huge thing. I'm not gonna tell until it actually happens. ^_^ I'm so excited. And I'm gonna have so many pictures. Lol. Thankfully, someone I know has a PC mouse to give me. Yay!

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After playing so many games and watching so many movies, I can't remember them all. I know I'm going to be using this Nancy Drew challenge again. Her Interactive releases at least one to two games a year. No doubt they started on number 31 as soon as the animations were done for The Shattered Medallion, which I received in the mail yesterday and finished this afternoon. So I will make a list of the ones I do remember. That way, I can use the same films rather than having to choose from my long rows of DVDs and VHSs. (I'm planning on getting those to DVDs, even the ones that aren't available in that format.) Of course, I'm also listing them out in case you want to have a similar challenge or want to join. :) It's your choice. Those that have the OR means I can choose either one, even if the main subject is only used for a small portion in the film. 10. The Secret of Shadow Ranch - Durango Kids 11. The Curse of Blackmoor Manor - The Secret Garden 12. Secr

Today, I'm excited. Brandon Schatsiek , Special Olympic's Missouri PR, is coming this morning to do the video portion of the May newsletter. I think it's slightly because the State meet is coming up. That is May 31st, by the way. I am so looking forward to meeting him finally. I love getting to know people. And to get to know people who are my new connections - that's just fantastic. I've learned this past year that to have better marketing and PR is to have the best connections with whatever your passionate about. Writing, my YouTube channel, and my radio show are my passions. I've already made friends with an owner of a local book store. ^_^ Now I'm making friends with someone who is in PR. I find that such a hoot! Brandon has already done the text interview. He sent me questions to answer, which I did. I wonder how I'll do when he comes to videotape me. Not only is he going to get footage of me, but he's recording my morning show on Show Time,

For the past few months, I have been challenging myself with the Nancy Drew pc games . I always try to play Nancy Drew at least once a month. This year, I got bored and wanted a little variety. I don't remember how it came to me; it must have happened while Her Interactive was doing the "like/share" competition of which game is the best. You can find that here . That must have been it. Because that was around the time I started the challenge. What is this challenge, you ask? Well, let me explain. Since my Windows 8 won't play any of the games before #10, Secret at Shadow Ranch, I can only play games 10 through the latest. I didn't play #16, The White Wolf of Icicle Creek; even after the Wii game they made, I've never been fond of the game. (I do like Freddie and the bird-watching woman, though.) Anyways, I decided to watch movies that have either the same location, topic, aspects/elements, or a combination. For instance, before I played The Haunting of C

Okay, so I got this fancy first aid kit about two months ago. At the time, it was a bit like an impulse buy. I've been meaning to get an empty first aid kit every since I rented this apartment. That way I wouldn't have to ask someone else for band aids and the like, even for a sprain or fracture. (My best friend let me borrow her boot brace. Said she'll ask for it back the next time she needs it. That kind of trade thing.) The thing about this first aid kit is that you gotta keep it locked. It came with a key. Only I seem to have misplaced it. I thought I put it somewhere I wouldn't forget. And I somewhat recall finding a key on my desk recently. I may or may not have thrown it away. >.< I realized this a few days ago and been mentally kicking myself ever since. But today, I got fed up with it. I knew I would need to get into it in the future. So about twenty minutes ago, I bent a paper clip and took my fingernail file. I have watched movies and shows where ch

Well, I made the goof of activating my credit card. I had hoped to save a bunch of money so I could use it when I'm ready for a cover art and an editor. It turns out I may not have enough for an editor. So pretty much, I have to talk to as many people as I can to get connections. So far, one friend/writer and a secretary told me they know someone. I think I prefer the secretary. I can't remember who the friend was, anyways. I could always ask the authors and writers in the local critique group I'm in. Eh, oh well. For the cover art... hmm, I may have to do it myself unfortunately. I don't know a thing about how to make one. Maybe someone in the critique group knows of someone. Wait, there is someone in the group who makes cover arts. But she uses images rather than painting and all that jazz. I'll figure something out. But for any of that to work, I need to finish the revision of my book. I have decided to publish A Test of Wizardry. I used it in fact for Camp

I was actually going over some past blogs I've written. I re-read Pay It Forward Weekend and realized I forgot to post something this past Wednesday night. You wouldn't believe what happened. Okay, so Wednesday evening, I walked my thirty minutes to mom's house. I had intended on getting my bike, hanging out with mom, and possibly some grocery shopping done. Well, I didn't get the grocery shopping until the nest day. Anyways. I stayed at mom's a little too long. I did check the tires before taking the bike out. They're both flat. But when I was heading off, I realized I didn't go over the brakes. So I tested them. The front brakes are fine, but the wires for my back brakes are completely stiff. I told my dad about it today during the swim meet and he said it's probably from being inside the house for so long. See, I stored my bike in my mom's front bedroom. The place I live in, we're not allowed to bring bikes inside and there is no shelter f

I don't know why I'm so nervous today. I mean, this is like - what? - the fifth or sixth year of swimming. For Special Olympics. Why do I feel even more nervous than the other times? It doesn't make sense. How many times did I swim in the past few months? How many practices? Oh, yeah. Three of them were cancelled. Of course. No wonder I don't feel prepared. Plus, I haven't practiced my flip turns at all. I need them for my 100 free. I'm also doing the 100 breast, 100 IM (Individual Medley), and of course the team relay. Breathe, Allison. You need all the energy you got for the swimming. Don't use it for shaking nerves. Breathe. Gah. Wish me luck, everyone.

As I type now, my mind is reeling with excitement. It should be gone, but it's just so cool. I must say; last weekend has got to be one of the best weekends I've had since Christmas. So what is it that has made 2014 even better? There was an author meet-up at one of the Panera's here in town. It happened to be in a part of town I don't normally go to. Since I don't have a permit, I had to ask for a ride. I had a blast. I got to learn more on what to do after publishing a book. Getting the word out, using all your sources, and putting your book in the right stores. After the get together, I decided to stay and check out the stores at the mall strip, or whatever it's called. I saw a store called Camera; though it had three words next to it, I can't remember what they said. I decided to check it out. I figured there might be something that I could buy in the next month or that day. Since I knew my paycheck was pending already. The place seemed to be a gener

Okay, so I tend to hit the snooze button more than twice. And almost every time I do, I end up falling asleep once more. Other times, I just want to finish the dream I'm having. I'm a daydreamer, see. I think I'm more sensitive when it comes to the area where you're between asleep and awake. You know that part of dreaming, right? That's when, and where, you can control which way, or ways, the dream turns. You could make it bad, good, naughty, frightening, sexual, and so on and so forth. Today was not one of those daydreams. I actually kept falling asleep. The last time I hit the snooze button, I was determined to get up and awaken. But because it's so freaking cold in my apartment, guess what I do? I fall asleep underneath my warm, cotton/polyester-soft blanket. It seemed each time I fell asleep today, I had a new dream. I don't know how to explain the last dream, because it was so weird. It seemed to be like an MMORPG game, but it felt so real. I coul

I really am excited about the film festival my hometown has. It's been part of our society for over ten years now. The number of volunteers increase astronomically every year. I don't know how much we had this year, but I can tell you one thing. I was - am - a volunteer, and have been for five or six years now. Every year, we use a theme. We don't re-use either of them. This year's theme is Magic Realism. The new merchandise our film fest has is incredible. Almost all of the merch shirts are made recyclables, which is really cool. I do believe we've already run out of scarves (which are sewn together from previous year's merch) and flasks. I knew the flasks were hot by Friday, so I went ahead and bought one. Tomorrow, the volunteers and higher-ups of the volunteer ladder will get 25% discount on the merchandise. At least, what is left of this year's merch. I tried to do that my first year volunteering, though I should've known better. All the stuff th

It is February and I forgot to do my weekly blogs. Uh oh! Looks like I need to work on that a little more. Lol. Today, I want to talk about the links I have posted on my blog channel and my YouTube channel. I'm not one to brag or put myself out there. Sometimes, though, I got to tell someone about my platform. I am always bringing up YouTube, but I don't mention my other sites. I do happen to have a kickstarter profile , but I haven't started any projects. Mainly because I don't know how to connect kickstarter to my bank. :( But oh well. There's BlogTalkRadio , but you know that. I don't recall giving you the link to check it out. Originally, the show was Mondays and Fridays at 3pm central. I changed that to Mondays 9:30am central and Fridays 12pm central. I can't forget Flickr . I first started putting videos and pictures on there to free up space on my old computer. Now that I have a 1 terabyte Windows 8, I don't have to worry about space. ^_^ I

I thought I'd post one more blog before January is over. I do intend on posting more this year. I did manage to post more than five blogs last year, which is pretty nice. It seems the only thing that prevents me from doing this is the power of words... so to speak. A lot of times, I don't have much to say. But lately, it's more likely because of my radio show. I've been using the radio show as a journal, and I think that needs to stop. The question is, what do I talk about besides myself? No one outside of my hometown bothers to listen to the show. I suppose the speeches for Earth Day would do. Then again... no, I'm drawing a blank. Lol. HELP!

For the Pay It Forward weekend, I helped out my three people. I had a lot of fun. It was downtown. I had taken my hour exercise to walk to a new store we have in town, Lucky's Market. I had intended of taking out ten dollars for my laundry card. But on my way, I saw those two elderly men I always see when I walk downtown. I noticed a red leather glove a few yards away from them, so I put eight dollars in it. I didn't tell them, but I do hope some random person finds the money. On my way home, I slipped a dollar in a local theater money tray. Not a movie theater, mind you, but a stage theater. This is my favorite stage theater in the whole town, by the way, and more popular than the MU stage theater. So I figured whoever works that day can get it, or whoever spots it from the sidewalk they are walking on. And finally, I encouraged a birthday buddy get the confidence to walk downtown alone. He said it scared him to do it without someone. He actually tried to get me to join

So.... yeah, I'm bored. Lol. This week, I've figured out a few things. One - I still seriously need to improve my motivation. Two - I still seriously need to improve my self advocacy. And three - my radio show is more like my journal time. I noted this while doing my show on Monday. So I intend to do something about that. Oh, that reminds me. I have a radio show on BlogTalkRadio. To see my profile, click on the following words:  TE243's Show . TE243 is my username, but it is not my radio name. To find out what it is, I suggest you listen to my show. My schedule is Mondays and Fridays at 3pm central. I do hope you come and listen. I hope to figure out how to influence people who listen to me. To take action on their own lives. :) I want to help people while I still get to talk about my life.

Normally, I find that title too typical to see, especially when it's used with the new year. This time, it's different. A new beginning rings true at the moment, especially after the brilliant Christmases I had last month - three of them. Okay, so why did I have three Christmases? Well, my parents are divorced, so my sisters and I have separate times on Christmas day to be with each parent. The third Christmas was with my co-workers, and boy, did we have a blast! I don't think I have ever been so blessed and so spoiled at the same time - even on Christmas. My sisters, mom, and my eldest sister's boyfriend chipped in together to get me a new computer. My eldest sister decided to make it a searching puzzle like she did with my 24th birthday celebration. Lol. Anyways, her boyfriend got me a new keyboard and mouse; I've already brutalized the mouse by obsessively playing cookie clickers. Who knew Windows 8 could be so much fun and addicting? xD Even my dad got me a ne