All That Glitters

I figured that I might as well give you an update on all things me: My favorite bands, books I'm writing, poetry, the FAF band, and more news about my favorite bands.

The best bands on earth are signed to "Mono Vs. Stereo".
I just figured out today about "Sadie Hawkin's Dance", a Relient K song--- a really old one at that. It used to be on my mp3 when I was little and I didn't even know it was by Relient K! So, I've been listening to them since I was eight, actually. And by coinsidence, in the springtime of this year, they toured with Paramore. Paramore is mainstream, Relient K is Christian. They both sound great... I'd kill to be at that concert. Turns out "Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, And Things Like Chemistry" is by them, too. That used to be on my mp3, also! Wow, I used to be a Relient K fan and didn't even know I was.

^^^I LOOOOVVVVEEEE this song by Relient K! The pickup line ("we should get jerseys... cuz we make a good team") is awesome. It kinda makes me laugh.^^^

Then, another great band signed to the same label is the legendary, I blog about them too often, Deas Vail.

And no wonder that this band is so good, they've toured with both Relient K and Owl City. They sound amazing, and it upsets me that they have less than 10,000 views so far for this song. Their most popular one hasn't even reached 100,000 yet. I kinda wish I was the only person in the whole world that had heard of this band, but, if I were the only one, I'd still be a ParaHolic because Nathan E. is the one that introduced me to Deas Vail. That's a major pro that came out of joining ThExperience FAF Christian Band. (Please visit their Tumblr blog. It's an exceptional blog.)

On the paper side of things...
I've been trying to finish "Unspoken" and all these ideas have been popping into my mind!

"Viva Las Vegas" is now called "Fourteen", because the number matches up with the murder timings and amounts.

"Never Say Never" has been changed back to the title "Loser!"

"A New Perspective" has been changed back to the title "The Interstate".

"Bury The Castle" is now called "On Death's Edge" because that title sounds WAAAYYY more unique.

BRAND NEW AND IMPORTANT: I'm working on a book called "Yellow Ribbons", which is about a girl who's fiance or husband has been deployed to Iraq. I might enter a chapter of it into the District Fine Arts Festival. I'm trying to find out if he should be her hubby or fiance.

"The poet and the beat..."
I love music (just stating the obvious). I love writing. So:

Music lover + Poetry + Putting it to music = Perfect combination.

One problem: Putting it to music. My songs always end up... um... quite bogus. BUT! I can still write poetry and dream up music to put with it! You should see more poems from me soon.

Everything? Temporarily falling apart.
Band has been great lately. Absolutely awesome. Wonderful. But far from perfect, which is okay with me but... this describes our practice on Sunday:

FIRST RUNTHROUGH
Amazing!

MIDDLE
Brian: Drums off beat.
Mariah: Forgetting the next chorus again.
Mark: Piano player absent for his brother's graduation.
Hope (me): Not even saying lyrics on some parts... kinda mumbling.
Nathan: Already ending the song!

The others (Josh and Chris) did fine though, but we were all quite lost.

END
We ended on a high note at least.

Yeah. Not our finest practice. We're each working on our stage presence, so hopefully we'll do good in Phoenix. And hopefully that mini dust bowl there clears up so we can fly down there.

That's a great deal!
Deas Vail is the best band in the world and they want to show you the LOOOOOVVVVEEEE. First of all, their 2009 album, "Birds and Cages", is only $5 for the rest of July. AND! If you pre-order the upcoming album, "Deas Vail", they will ship it to your house on September 2nd and if your apart of the first 100 customers (you probably will be because they're not a popular band at all), you'll get a wristband for free with an autographed poster. Come on! You can't resist! If you're excited about this, Wes will give you the details.

See ya later!

Secular To Gospel: Inspirational Day!

Ugh... today was yet ANOTHER additional band practice, and like, randomly in the middle of it, my throat started hurting and got all scratchy. It didn't affect (Affect? Effect?) my voice, but it sure was a little annoying.  (I'm actually coughing right now if you want details.)

Today was my dad's knee surgery and I spent the night at Maria's. You might've seen that from last night's post saying that I didn't pre-view "Decode" because Maria wanted me to speed up.

ANYWAY! I'm getting way off subject and by the time I'm back on, I won't have space for our music week! So yeah, my dad had surgery and is sleeping (at home, not in a hospital!) right now. He has some weird ice machine for his knee and the doctors said his knee is doing better! So that's good!
~~~
Today, we have another double showdown... Kings Of Leon, Luminate, Justin Bieber, and Mandisa.

Kings Of Leon's "Use Somebody" versus...

Luminate's "Come Home".

Kings Of Leon's Message  

They could really use a friend right now... well, a girlfriend, really.

Luminate's Message

You can't play God in your own life, ("You don't have to believe me..." Sorry, quoting Paramore) you need to surrender to God and "come home".

So... The difference?

Huge. Kings Of Leon does not have a huge message at all. I mean, seriously. "Someone like you... somebody." That's it. Luminate is telling you God is the only way to make things right in your life, not you.

This is the next challenge, Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" versus....

Mandisa's "Stronger".

Justin Bieber's Message

You can do anything you set your mind to. Don't let anyone bring you down, pick yourself back up, know your dreams are achievable, and never say never.

Mandisa's Message

Similar to "Never Say Never", God can take something horrible and turn it into something beautiful.

So... the difference?

Okay, I must admit, I only picked Mandisa's song to go with his because the beginning sounds like a JB song. (Mandisa with Justin Bieber... I'd buy that!) But, they have similar messages, so no need to explain!

The difference, if there is one, is that Justin Bieber (who is a Christian but sings mainstream) is motivating you to never say never, but Mandisa is never saying never with God.

This is gonna make you stronger, stronger...

PS! I think my band will make Nationals! I sang both parts today, lead on the verses, backup on the chorus. I've been singing for Mariah for awhile now. Mariah... COME BACK!!!!
PPS! How will we get to Nationals if we make it when they're in Phoenix??? Don't make us drive to Arizona in the middle of summer... I could totally see myself getting really sick really fast.
PPPS! I changed the title of "Loser!" to "Never Say Never"! Forget about the original plot of "Never Say never", I'm using "Loser!" but changing the title and editing.
PPPPS! Visit Gymnastics IS Life! to see my new design!

I Will Never Say Never

Okay... I'm probably really starting to sound like a Belieber now, but this song REALLY inspires me.

Today was the Fine Arts Showcase, and first, let me just say I had butterflies in my stomach, and then "a Brittany song was on..." =P Sorry, it didn't happen that way.

It was a busy weekend for our band. Actually, for Fine Arts period. Yesterday, we had practice from 12 to 2 p.m., and my singing was not that good. Not Samm good, not Mariah good, not Abby good, not Coryn good, not Mrs. Heather good, not Mrs. Jenilee good, not Mrs. Lee Ann good, not Mrs. Donna good, not Justin Bieber good. Not very good.

The drumming was not very.... on beat. Mrs. Sandy tried to tell Brian, and he understood, but he was just like, "I try to keep [a steady beat]... I just can't do it."
"I can't do it."

In my mind, I'm like, "Brian! Never say never!" And then, my singing got all screwed up. In my mind, I'm thinking,

"Dude, I cannot do this. I will never be able to do this. I will never be as good as Mariah, so taking her spot for the showcase is gonna be a disgrace to the band."

I told myself my new motto, "Never say never", but even then, it was like "Never say never? NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER will I ever be able to do this. Ever."

Never? Really, honey? Well, tonight made me and Brian's 'Nevers' seem foolish. Practice before was a little shaky, with Nathan breaking a guitar string, the main one he uses, E, (It's the second one I've seen him break) Josh not knowing how to tune his guitar and his amp making a weird noise, and me with that tiny, quiet voice.

Well, we pushed on anyway. Nathan luckily had another guitar, Josh's noise problem was fixed, and my voice got louder. Never? Really? Never say never.

What turned it around? Justin Bieber music and Pastor Corey and Brian accusing me of having the Bieber Fever? No. I think... it was prayer.

Before we got ready to perform, waiting backstage, the band did a group prayer lead by Nathan (doesn't matter who prayed... just giving details), and when we were ready to perform, Pastor Jay said a prayer when it was the beginnning of service. It calmed down my nerves... and...

There's just no turning back when your heart's under attack. Gonna give everything I have, it's my destiny! I will never say never... I will fight 'til forever... Whenever you knock me down, I will not stay on the ground, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up up up... and never say never.

Book Waiting List

Hey! I'm back! I'm starting to get back into the groove of things and starting to LOOOVVVEEEE blogging again! Yipee!

So, today I thought I might just tell you about the stories I have on my mind and where I am going with my writing dreams.

Bury The Castle
Inspired by Paramore's "Brick By Boring Brick", this is a half-fantasy story about a girl who is in a coma and enters a strange world. That's all I know so far, but I think I'm going to love this book! Click here to view the story line through this awesome music video where Hayley wears her natural hair color, blonde! I'm so excited for my first fantasy!

New Perspective
Believe it or not, this is the story "The Interstate", with major changes. I decided that it wasn't too bad a book, it was just a little dry. So, I made some huge changes. I didn't want my characters to have similar names to people I know, so Chloe is now named Hayley. (Even though I do have a friend named Hayley.) Jeremy is now named Michael. This is a story about two Christians, Hayley and Jonathan, who are involved in a car accident with two other friends, McKenna and Michael. They are all in the car together, and because the accident is so severe, McKenna is killed (Don't know how yet... the old way was strangled by a seat belt, but I want something bigger...), and Jeremy is killed after six hours in the hospital. Hayley was best friends with McKenna and her boyfriend was Michael. Jonathan was friends with Michael and his girlfriend was McKenna. McKenna was a strong believer, but Michael was not a Christian at all. Shaken by the fact that this could ever happen to them, the two teenagers become depressed and such and such. Later in the story, the two teenagers connect and become great friends (possibly more if I feel the need) and gain a new perspective of the world to reach out to the lost. Click here to read the lyrics and hear the song that inspires this book, "New Perspective" by Fireflight. I love Fireflight, you need to check out their songs. They're pretty much better than Paramore because they have a Christian message.

Viva Las Vegas
I realized the plot I showed you before was slightly dry. This is a story about a girl named Sera who goes on a trip to Las Vegas with a group of seniors at her high school in Reno. This plot will have to undergo a LOT of contstruction before I even consider putting it out there for everyone to read.

Firework
This will be a series about two teenage supermodels. The books in this saga will be

"Firework"
"Teenage Dream"

It will only be two books about young models, April and (unknown name... Harley or Bayleigh???) unknown name. I don't know the plots yet, but I'm going to like these books!

Never Say Never
HaHa this one makes me laugh a little! Inspired by the Bieb man's song, this will be about a young writer (or singer... hmm...) with big dreams and how they start from nowhere and end up somewhere. It's better than it sounds!

More books to come! I'm excited!!!!!! I hope to have "Bury The Castle", "Unspoken", and "New Perspective" out before I go to college.

I don't know.... writing is a roller coaster!

If I ever start to think straight, this heart will start a riot in me, let's start, start, HEY!

P.S. It's official... My band is performing on Sunday! We're so going to rock!

Mispell Munday~Anyone Up For Some Ham?

This is my "mispell" about seeing Ken Ham at CLC today.
~~~
Let's jsut say I had a vrey sroe thraot today. Dno't wrory, it's becuase yesterday I did a lot of singing at bnad prcatice.
--
Daer Fine Arts Judges,
Yuo're going to lvoe us!

Best bakcup singer ever,
Hope!
--
Tdoay, I had "Never Say Never" stcuk in my haed. Why? I dno't know! Soon, that will be my msot used label--- I gaurantee it!

Can I tell you something? I really am good at spelling, so the things spelled wrong are like that on purpose.

So anyway, I wnet to the Christian Life Center tdoay to see Ken Ham (founder of Answers in Genesis)! From waht I haerd, I tihnk he has something agianst poodles:) Anyway, he was a graet spaeker. We will be seeing him agian tonight!

See ya L8R!

RandomNess Haiku

Today is so dreary. I decided to fill it up with my new love of poetry and some funness! As you read my haikus, pray for Japan. These poems are Japanese, (not my poems, they were created by Asians) so just keep the Japanese in your thoughts and prayers.
~~~
Rainbows of Promise

After the rain's fall
A blend of colors combine
Like a symphony.

Grey

Clouds of stormy days
The rain of a new fragrance
The sun won't come out.

Dawn of Love

Like the sun's beauty
You took my breath far away
Love that can't be moved.
~~~
Those were three Haiku poems combined. Did you like them? I am starting to really like poetry, as you'll see in my Blogger profile. I love to write Haiku about nature, and sometimes even love. I also love to write freestyle that doesn't rhyme, which are almost always romantic and sweet and lovely, because I love love.

I love violins, cellos, and male vocals. And most of all, I love this song!

I was going to blog about something else, but now I don't really want to. I'm in a very serious mood today, thanks to a whole bunch of rain up here in Ohio. I went on a trip to Cleveland for my dad's appointment at the Clinic. It was tiring, but I liked it.

I listened to enough Justin Bieber, Jaden Smith, Usher, and Sean Kingston to last two days. I listened to one Paramore song on repeat.

I'll tell you, if I hear the words:

"You can't be too careful anymore"

or

"I will never say never"

ANYMORE, I'm gonna kill somebody. Okay, no, I won't. I'm not a murderer. I don't hate!

Well, tomorrow I have band practice again and it's back to the back-up. UNLESS we perform next Sunday. I'm ready to show the world my voice!!!!!!!


You know what it is....

PiNk 'n' bLuE<3

QuEEn of hEart$
-Hope!

***UPDATE: These poems are written by me, but the Japanese invented the Haiku style.***

Typical Saturday of an Author

Okay, so I'm not a published author, (yet!) but I am an accomplished blog author, I like to say.

What can a musician's daughter, crafty girl, music lover, and author be found doing on the weekend?

Well, first, they can be found on YouTube...

BAHAHA! My dog does that weird face too. And the music... interesting.

Secondly, they can be found practicing a vocal solo.

They can be found being crafty and decorating a composition book with magazine papers. I'll have to show you mine someday it says "Soul Surfer", "Paramore", (written twice!) "Cheerleading", "Swimming", and it has a huge diaper on it. I'm gonna add more today. It's a fun and easy craft that drowns me in the things I love and makes me smile when I use it!

A music lover can be found jamming out to this...

Keep your eyes on 2:02. I just love the harmonies on this song when they say "somebody to lo-o-ove..." it makes me want to be his backup singer.

(when Jaden says "I was born from two stars..." he really was. Will Smith and Jada Smith. But let's not talk about them... this is a Christian blog!) Please don't ignore this song because it's by a Bieber. It's a really inspiring song. Had it been a Christian song, I'd give it five stars!

And where it says "post a Komment", be aware that this is not my video and that I know how to spell 'comment'!

Anyway, the songs that really inspire me when I write are...

Notice they say "keep your feet on the ground when your head's in the clouds", which is our Spring quote!

I wanna sing this next year for Fine Arts, and it really inspires my story I'm currently writing, especially since it's a Christian story!

~~~~

Our Fine Arts band is doing great! We have a huge chance at Nationals!

Two Weeks Ago....

Brian was waaaay off beat.

Mark showed up an hour and fifteen minutes late because of Maria's Narnia play. (she was Mr. Tumnus!)

Mariah and I were still learning our lyrics.

Chris' bass was quiet, but it sounded good.

Nathan was trying to figure the song out.

Josh was too quiet.

Last Week....

Brian stopped rocking to his own beat and finally got on track.

Mark learned his notes.

Mariah learned the lyrics and has good stage presence.

I learned my harmonies and am a lot louder. (Brian can hear me and Mariah over the drums now!)

Chris' bass is still quiet, but he's doing good.

Nathan is rocking his guitar solo(s).

Josh is strutting his strumming.

we have practice tomorrow, and if our progress keeps going up, we have a HUGE chance at Nationals! (Arizona... how will we get there???) At our first practice, because we were doing so bad and time pressed, I thought Nationals... never. (and it's my dad's 48th bday today! Happy bday, Dad! If you're wondering why it's written in this unlikely place, it's because I'm just now writing it and sticking it in a random place...)

Whenever you knock me down, I will not stay on the ground, pick it up.........

And never say never.