Solitaire

Current status of Solitaire scores on this specific laptop I'm using (not including the two I used previously and played a lot on):

High score: 13860    Date: 12/20/2012
Games played: 5362
Games won: 3012     Win percentage: 56%

Yeah...I play way too much Solitaire. I haven't had this computer for a year yet. And if I hadn't found some ways to distract myself, the count for games would be a lot higher. Win percentage probably could be higher, since there are times when I could go back and undo moves and win, but most of the time I play this when I'm too tired to concentrate on anything else, so I end up just starting another game.

Haha, average score is between 10,000 and 12,000.  Usually. 7,000 to 9,000 if I'm distracted or really tired. Still, even at worst I get better than my older sister's scores (last I checked, which was admittedly a while back, I think her best score was 7,000 with average between 3,000 and 5,000) And considering how half the time I'm also concentrating on whatever my older brother is talking about (one of my favorite things to do when he starts talking, because it does slightly annoy him and I can concentrate well enough on both things) I think I'm doing pretty well. But then, I only have my family to compare myself to right now, so I have no real idea.

If you add the amount of games I played on the previous two computers, I had a little more than 1,000 games on the one before this laptop, and probably only a few hundred on the one before that. Still, that's a lot of games.

Solitaire is a pretty fun game if you're like me and enjoy the brain puzzles. I like Solitaire and Tetris and Sudoku, and all the other puzzle games (particularly the Flow games on my android phone, the ones where you have to connect two dots to each other and there's a lot of them. Very challenging when you get to the 13x13 and up, but so much fun)

And yeah. It's almost 11 at night here, and my head's beginning to feel fuzzy from lack of sleep, so.

S'mores Dip

Mmm...ever had s'mores dip? It's really good...

Well, I've looked at some recipes online for s'mores dip, and a lot of them say to use 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, a can of condensed milk, and a bit of marshmallow crème (about half a cup) with graham crackers to eat it with.

'Course, that's probably correct. I followed the recipe off of a magazine a week or so ago, then lost it, so I made it a second time from memory and botched it up apparently, because I used two cups of chocolate chips. Oh, and we used Nilla wafers instead of graham crackers. They taste better :)

So, in recipe-type format or whatever (which might suck, since I've never tried this before):

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips
1 can condensed milk
1/2 cup marshmallow crème
1 box graham cracker sticks

To make it, just take the chocolate chips and put them in something to melt it (I use a really big glass measuring cup) with the can of condensed milk, microwaving it for about 30 seconds at a time, mixing when it's done until it's all smooth and melted. (For me, that's about a minute and a half to two minutes, but then I use two cups of chocolate chips, so it might not take that long)

Then you take the melted chocolate and put it into a glass bowl (or at least that's what I did) and spread it out evenly. Then you take the marshmallow crème and dump it in little blobs, and take a knife and swirl it around to make it look nice or however you like.

Then wait for it to cool down (or not, your choice, but then you'll just really have melted chocolate with marshmallow crème in it) and scoop some up with the graham cracker sticks (or in my case, Nilla wafers) and enjoy. Or not, your choice really :)


I'm definitely not an expert at writing things down in a recipe format or whatever you want to call that, but if that explanation isn't satisfactory enough and you really do want to try making it, you could always do a Google search. Remember, in most cases Google is your friend. Not always though.

But it does taste good. I find myself taking probably quite a bit of it through the day. And this is where I'm grateful for a high metabolism, because it means I can eat it all I want without really having to worry about my weight (actually, I'm underweight...so I could afford to gain some pounds)

Are you gonna try the s'mores dip? :)

Back again!

Hgh! No internet for over a week again! Agh! *throws temper tantrum, destroying things in various levels*

Yeah, no internet again. For roughly 190 hours (younger brother has been keeping count of the hours...annoying, and I've been hitting him with soft things to get him to shut up) The above is actually an explanation of how my older sister pretty much reacted. She's really pissed off, and she doesn't have it back now because her chores were taken away (again) and the rule in our house is: no chores, no privileges, including internet. And to make things worse, her attitude is horrible. She's been refusing to help with anything, and the rare times she does do something, everyone just ends up regretting asking her beacause of her attitude.

Oh, and she almost broke my older brother's hand by slamming it in the door. It doesn't seem like she'll ever learn that slamming the door on body parts hurts a lot. When we were all way younger, she did that on my finger, slammed the fingernail off completely. And I can tell you that the skin underneath is really sensitive. And I only had to deal with it once. My younger brother...I lost count how many times his fingers and toes were slammed.

Younger brother's reaction has been a bad attitude, but only really when anyone brought it up. And he complained about doing things as well, but then so did I. Nothing out of the ordinary there. But he's got internet back, and so do I, so that's all fine.

My reaction? Oh well, no internet again. I wish I could have, but it's not like I really need it that much.

I'm still sorting through the I don't know how many blog feed thingies (was over 600 earlier, now down to 250) and then I've got to sift through a few other things. Normally I can keep track of all that daily, and the real reason I hate having no internet is because what takes a few minutes at a time daily takes a few hours the more days I go without it.

So yeah. Internet is back for now, but I get the feeling that it'll be turned off again soon. But I'll still try to post something every day or two. Maybe something more meaningful too. I actually had something I wanted to post, but I didn't write it down...and I forgot completely what it was even about. But there're other ideas bouncing around in my head, so at least there'll be something even if it isn't what I originally wanted to put.

Swing

It's finally getting warmer outside here where I live. It's been cold so far all winter. We've had it snow maybe two or three times (definitely less than five times) where we've had to shovel the driveway. But other than that, nothing. Just bitter cold wind most of the time.

Earlier we all had to go outside and help tidy up the yard a little bit. Pick up sticks that had fallen since the fall when they were last picked up, move logs to the rack that was finally built (after waiting maybe two years) and of course, watch the little ones.

I usually avoid going outside. In the winter, because it's cold. In the spring and fall, because it can be cold, and depending on the month there's a possibility of mosquitoes. In the summer, unless we've got bug spray that actually works for me (I've found one that doesn't make everywhere stink awfully, and still manages to keep the bugs away, since it seems like they love me...) I actually like going outside when it isn't really hot.

But mostly I'm just someone who enjoys being inside. Anyways, we were outside earlier. And since I didn't have to do much apart from make sure the little ones didn't make a disaster of some sort (easy enough now, because they'll listen if you tell them to stop whatever it is they're doing) I was sitting on one of the swings hanging from our ancient oak trees (that had been struck at least twice by lightning) I usually like sitting on the regular kind that just goes back and forth, like those on a swingset, and we do have one, but it's set way too low for any of us kids to use, and after a while it goes from side to side and nearly makes you crash into the tree. My dad and older brother need to fix that, but seeing as how it's been like that since last year and we've bugged them since then, I'm not sure how fast it'll get done.

So I was sitting on the other swing. Not sure what the proper name for it would be, but it's the kind where there's a single rope attaching to the middle of whatever you use (some family friends used a plank of wood, ours is some plastic disk-like thing) And I don't actually know if you can use it like the regular swings, because ours is close enough to the tree that we just kick off of the tree, spin around, and have fun like that. Probably damaging the tree, but at least I'm not nearly as destructive as my siblings are.

Anyways, I was sitting on the swing, listening to music. And I'm not sure if it's because I love swinging (always have, probably always will) or because I was actually getting a chance to breathe in fresh air, or just because I had a more or less decent excuse to not pay attention to my family, but I felt better after a little while. See, lately I haven't been feeling all that well emotionally. So that really helped. And while I can't really say that I'm happy, I think it's something close to it.

Actually, I'm not sure why this turned out so long. I only meant to say that it was getting warmer outside and that I feel a little better after spending some time outside. But that's what happens when I can't seem to get more than 5 or so hours of sleep at night. I start babbling and making random connections and depending on who I'm talking to and what I end up talking about, sometimes confusing people.

And I think I'm going to stop there, because otherwise I'm not sure if I will stop.

Loneliness

When the world is gray

And you think you're lost

Don't give up.

 

There's always someone there

Even if you can't see them

You're not alone.

 

So don't turn away

Or think that there's a cost

Just look up.

Poetry, maybe? I dunno. Just something that came in my head.

Heart Attack

So, I finally got around to listening Heart Attack by Demi Lovato because my sister has been pestering me...and when she pesters someone, it's annoying...and I have a lot of patience...


Anyways, this post is going to be a long-ish (maybe) post with mostly videos of covers of the song. Because while I like the lyrics and think that it would probably describe me if I ever liked anyone (but I doubt that anything'll happen anytime soon) and I'm okay with Demi's voice (especially since it sounds way better than in her Unbroken album) for some reason I don't like her singing it.

This is the official video for it. I kinda like the video, but I also kinda don't like it. Usually that's how it is for me and music videos, by the way. I think it's okay mostly except for the part where she's dressed in white with her hair pulled back and black arms...that just looks weird to me. But other than that, I think it's pretty interesting. Oh, and I'm just saying, but she has a big mouth...well, she can open it as wide as my sister can, at the very least...not a complaint, just stating because I've got a tiny mouth and it sometimes surprises me how big mouths can be...

So, because I'm unnaturally curious, I'm now looking at covers for the song. I say 'unnaturally' because I usually hate covers, and I almost never look for them. I usually just stumble upon them while I'm listening to other music. And usually I don't like them and think they sound awful. So.

And while searching, I found a guy version of the song. I think it's kind of funny, what with the slightly changed lyrics, and it actually sounds nice. And for someone who doesn't usually like covers or guys singing (not sure why, I just don't) I think that might say something. But it also just might be because the audio quality seems a lot better than the audio for most other covers I listen to.

So there's that one. Ooh, I found another cover I like.

This one I like. A lot. I think it's a lot better than the original :) And looking through the channel, I really like them...they sound awesome.

Hn, this one is nice too. I'm not used to listening to acoustic versions (though about half of the time I find I like them better than the original versions) but she sounds nice.

Actually, there are other acoustic covers I like too, but I probably won't be putting them up here because they do end up sounding the same (music-wise, not voice-wise) after a while.

Now this video I like. The girl's makeup is interesting to me (not much of a fan of makeup, so sparkly eyeshadow does interest me a bit, as well as those stars...) and she sounds nice. And her hair...it's what, blond to pink to purple? Or is it indigo or something? Anyways, I like it. And I've heard a few Jake Coco songs before...a long time ago...and I liked them. So I liked this video.

Now this is an interesting one. It's a guy version, but rather from the view of someone else noticing these things about a girl, instead of being about the guy himself. But while I like that, I'm not much a fan of the vocals. Don't know why, I just don't...


And since I'm sure that you must be getting sick of this song by now, I know I am, I'll stop there with the videos. So far my favorite version would be the one by TeraBrite. I like the way how the music sounds, and her voice is really nice. But that's just my opinion :)

Comparing Matched and Delirium Part 1: Societies

So I'm reading a book called Crossed by Ally Condie, which is the second book in the Matched trilogy. And I like it. My description for the series (which is up to you to decide whether or not it's accurate or not, or whatever else you want to throw in) is that society matches people up and marries them off to have kids and all. Basically free will is mostly eliminated there when it comes to choosing love. Or that's how I see it.

I like the books. I really do. I'm finding myself more and more fascinated by dystopian books.

But the more I read, the more I find myself comparing it to another book series I read a little while back called Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

(By the way, I only read the first two books of the Delirium trilogy, and I'm only about halfway through with Crossed, so this is just my current point of view. And in no way am I stating that any of this is accurate or anything, just so you know, since sometimes I forget things too)

But on the left here is the cover of Matched, and on the right is the cover of Delirium, both the first books in their series.



Both of the stories are set around their society. Both are forceful, choosing out who you're to marry and have kids with and all that. In Delirium, the citizens are brainwashed by a surgical procedure that render them almost like zombies (I'm talking about the trance-like state, not the flesh-eating part) that obey their wills. In Matched, the citizens retain their minds, though their free will is very limited still because basically everything is monitored, and they have to carry around tablets with them that have different effects depending on the color (blue, green, and red)


Both societies set up who you're going to marry and have kids with when you grow up. Delirium chooses the matches by asking you questions and comparing them to others' answers, and there is some choice there, because if I remember correctly, you get a few choices of people you could be matched up with, and you could number them in the order of your choice. In Matched, the society does it all for you. Since everything is monitored, they can accurately make guesses about most of what you decide even before you do. There is no choice here, though you can opt to become a Single, which is someone who doesn't marry and can't have kids.


But there is a major difference in the societies. In Delirium, you're not allowed to express love. That's what the procedure does: erase the feeling of love, because they claim that love is the deadliest disease of all (which does have some truth in it, actually, but I don't think that people deserve to be brainwashed like that. After all, love can bring happiness, even if it does seem to often lead to unhappiness) So if you express love, you'd get into trouble. The boys and girls are kept apart until they're married (I think) and there's a huge punishment if you're caught with a person of the other gender, especially if they suspect that there's love involved. One But in Matched, it's not that bad. You're allowed to show love. Boys and girls do go to school together, and before their Matching Banquets they do sometimes have games where they'll kiss other people. But once they're Matched, usually they become focused on their Match and don't do that (though there is apparently a percent of the teens who have flings with other people who aren't their Match, or something like that)


In Delirium, the society mostly seems to be based on eliminating love, because to them, love causes a lot of conflicts. They believe that the world is better off without it. And yeah, control is also thrown in there, but still. In Matched, the society seems to be based on having things at maximum efficiency, as well as control. I think that the matching in Delirium is mostly so that there is an order to things, so that they don't end up with someone they completely hate, and the brainwashing to prevent any rebellions, while the matching in Matched is to get the best genes mixed together or something, and where they use the threats of getting an Aberration status and the tablets for control.



I know that they're not the same. I'm not saying they are, if that's what you're thinking. But I can't help but compare the two stories. And it's not just because of the societies. But I'll get to that in a different post. And there are probably other things I could compare between the two societies, but I think I'm fine with these for now.

And if you haven't read either of the series, I would recommend it if you like dystopian stories. I know that I like them.

Weekends

So, I got a Kindle for my birthday, as well as $100. Definitely better than last years gift, which was a $60-70 bike. And we went to Medieval Times earlier. That was fun, even if our knight didn't win, and the rest of my family complained on the way home, and I didn't actually get to have the birthday package. But oh well. Next time I don't want to bring the entire family...because I know I'm going back.


In other news, I actually hate weekends. Mostly because my dad comes home. I love my dad and all, but he and my mom don't along well anymore. One of them is always complaining about the other (usually my mom complaining, my dad mostly says things as jokes that she takes too seriously) and they rarely agree with each other.

It drives me insane. Especially when my mom told me when I was younger that she loved my dad, and she told me how they met and all that. Someone's family wasn't happy with their marriage at first (I think it was my dad's side) but a few months afterwards, they were asking my mom if she had any good news (a baby) I liked it better when she told me that, because even though I didn't really care at the time so much, we were still a happier family.

Sometimes it isn't so bad. Sometimes I just sit in my room all day (which isn't unusual for me) and don't really hear much. This is usually because everyone's focused on the electronic of their choice, me included, but I think it's almost better than when we're off of them. We don't get nearly as much done as we could, but we're all still happy in our own ways. When we spend any time with one another (especially as a family) everyone starts becoming annoyed at each other.

I hate it that we're so dependant on electronics for our happiness. I liked it better when I was younger and had to do things without so much to help me. It took more effort than anything I can do today with an electronics help, sure, but it was satisfying in its own way. Now I just feel lazy the entire time.

Or maybe I'm just going slightly mad.

Haha, not that crazy yet. Maybe someday though.

Pointless android games (to me)

...Yeah, I'm bored with Littlest Pet Shop. I'm trying to not collect money now, because I've got 5 open spaces in homes, and since you can get pets from the hearts lucky paws game (I've gotten two of them already...the lamb and the lop bunny/rabbit/whatever it is since I'm too lazy to look) I'm not going to bother buying the 5 remaining pets that cost coins and not Bling. Well, unless some limited edition offer that costs coins comes up.

Anyways, I'm really bored with the game now. No quests left, no real point to the game, and updates are infrequent enough that the only reason I go on once a day is for the daily reward. Someday soon though, I'm just going to stop playing altogether. Just like with Farmville...


...Oh, and I found another pointless game for my phone. It's called Star Girl. I originally played it because I wanted to earn a few Bling for LPS (Pointless now, but still) but I still have it installed. All you really do is earn money, buy clothes, accessories, shoes and other stuff, and make as many boyfriends as you can.

It's a good game if you need to waste your time (and potentially money) on, but otherwise I don't really like it. So it's also a game that I'm just going to stop playing altogether someday. And this someday will be very soon.


Also, you should be able to expect a more meaningful post sometime. I just haven't been able to come up with anything I didn't immediately hate, otherwise I would've posted something else sooner. And my Kindle came...so I'll be distracted with that for a little while :)

My translation of Lied van my Hart (now with Afrikaans lyrics as well)

The other day I was searching Youtube a bit and somehow found myself at an Afrikaans song. It's a little funny to me, because despite knowing the language, I don't really make much of an active effort to find any music. But I like this song, and since I'm not sure if there's a translation out there (the link didn't work in the video description, and a very quick search on Google didn't show anything, though there may be something that I missed) I'm going to see how well I really can translate from Afrikaans to English.

EDIT: I got a request to post the Afrikaans lyrics as well, so they're up now. Also did minor
changes to the English lyrics.

Lied van my Hart - Song of my Heart

Afrikaans
Steve
My lewe le en wag
net anderkant die wereld wat ek ken
Daar le my nuwe dag

Net een ding maak my vry
Ek luister na die sagte note diep
na die stem hier binne my

Maar alles wat ek is moet ek behou, om waar to bly
Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die lied binne my
Ek sing al my drome en dan is ek vry

Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die stem wat my ken
Bly naby die waarheid en dan sal ek wen
Dis die lied van my hart

Nadine
Al was ek net 'n kind
Kon ek die woorde saggies hoor oor my
'n fluister op die wind
My wereld raak nou stil
Ek luister na die woorde in my siel, want ek weet dis God se wil

Maar alles wat ek is moet ek behou, om waar to bly

Both
Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die lied binne my
Ek sing al my drome en dan is ek vry

Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die stem wat my ken
Bly naby die waarheid en dan sal ek wen
Dis die lied van my hart

Nadine
Maar diep hier binne my
is die stem van donker vrese
Sal ek die krag en moed he
om te wees wat ek wil wees

Steve
Want alles in jou lewe
het 'n prys wat jy betaal

Both
'n prys wat jy moet neerle
om jou drome te gaan haal

Nadine
Die dis lied van my hart
Dis die lied binne my
Ek sing al my drome en dan is ek vry

Both
Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die lied binne my
Ek sing al my drome en dan is ek vry

Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die stem wat my ken
Bly naby die waarheid en dan sal ek wen
Dis die lied van my hart

Dis die lied van my hart
Dis die stem wat my ken
Bly naby die waarheid end dan sal ek wen
Dis die lied van my hart

Dis die lied van my hart

English
Steve
My life lies and waits
just beyond the world that I know
There lies my new day

Just one thing makes me free
I listen to the soft notes deep
To the voice here inside me

But everything that I am I must retain, to stay true
It's the song of my heart
It's the song inside me
I sing all my dreams, and then I am free

It's the song of my heart
It's the voice that knows me
Stay close to the truth, and then I will win
It's the song of my heart

Nadine
Though I was just a child
I could hear the words softly over me
a whisper on the wind
My world is getting quiet
I listen to the words in my soul, because I know it's God's will

But everything I am I must protect, to stay true

Both
It's the song of my heart
It's the song inside me
I sing all my dreams and then I am free

It's the song of my heart
It's the voice that knows me
Stay close to the truth, and then I will win
It's the song of my heart

Nadine
But deep inside me
is the voice of dark fear
Will I have the strength and courage, to be what I want to be

Steve
Because everything in your life, has a price that you pay

Both
A price you have to lay down, to fetch your dreams

Nadine
It's the song of my heart
It's the song inside me
I sing all my dreams and then I am free

Both
It's the song of my heart
It's the song inside me
I sing all my dreams and then I am free

It's the song of my heart
It's the voice that knows me
Stay close to the truth, and then I will win
It's the song of my heart

It's the song of my heart
It's the voice that knows me
Stay close to the truth, and then I will win
It's the song of my heart

It's the song of my heart


Aaand, that's it. This is how I would translate it. Others might put it a little differently, but this is how I see the words translate to in my head, if that makes any sense. And since this was fun, I might do more translations in the future.

Clouds

Mmm...rainbow cupcakes taste good. The chocolate's a bit sweet for my tastes, but I expected that.

It's not often that my entire family goes out for dinner or something. And usually when we do, there's a few people mad at each other for some reason. Usually a stupid reason as well. But yesterday we all went out and somehow nobody got mad (except for my younger brother because my little sister was taking her sweet time eating her food)

Actually, this post has nothing to do with that. I just mentioned it because when we were driving home, I was looking outside at the clouds. I've always liked looking at clouds. I've never really tried seeing shapes in them, but they really are pretty and calming. And even though the clouds were dark and it looks like it's going to rain sometime in the future, I still like them.

I think that what really got my interest this time was that there was a bit of a gap in the clouds where the sun was shining through. Not the shape of the sun, but rather the rays. I've only ever seen a few times in real life the suns rays like how they often are in paintings (or at least the ones I look at) so it's always fascinating to me when I see it.

Birthday birthday birthday

I feel a little guilty for not coming on here. But between having no internet (why I get punished for something my siblings did I don't quite understand) and not really knowing what to say, I can't really say that I've had a reason to.


My birthday is coming up. In less than a week. I already know that I'm going to get a Kindle, but the rest of my gifts remain a mystery. I actually could ask what I'd be getting, but since my mom is mostly behind the decision for buying the gifts, I don't really care. She's never gotten me something I didn't want yet, and I don't expect her to start now.


So next weekend, I think, I'm going to Medieval Times. We always get to choose a nice restaurant to go to for our birthday, and since we went there for my mom's birthday in December, I've only wanted to go back. So for once I actually knew without making a last minute decision where I wanted to eat.


And I'm going to be making myself a nice rainbow cake. I made rainbow cupcakes last night, and melted some chocolate over them earlier, and haven't had any of it yet except for a piece that my little sister was kind enough to give me, but it tastes good. I'm just waiting on others to finish their chores so I can have one. (Maybe I can have the leftover chocolate...)


Some people might be wondering why I want a rainbow cake. (I know that my younger brother does, anyways) Usually girls like pink and all, so that'd end up being a strawberry cake most likely. But ever since watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I've been a bit put off of pink (agh, way too much pink! And cats! I don't like Dolores Umbridge) And I've always loved rainbows. I'm actually a little surprised that I've only now made them and not a long time ago. That, and I'm really tired of strawberry and chocolate cakes, which is what everyone else in my family decides to have in the end.


Am I looking forward to my birthday? Yes. I have been looking forward to it when my little sister asked me "How many sleeps until your birthday?" and I realized that the answer was two weeks exactly. (I think she just wants my birthday to be done with so that she can bring hers up the entire time...though it's only in August)


Do I think that it's going to be a nice birthday? Um, the day of my birthday probably not so much, because we never really do anything here at home, and my dad will be gone for work. But the presents? I'll probably go crazy over them for a little while and just fast fade back into my regular routine with some minor adjustments. That's how it was for Christmas anyways. But the overall celebration that gets stretched out little bit by little bit between now and the time we're done with Medieval Times? That'll be nice.


That's about it on birthday news for now. And for some random and not really at all related news, I found my psp! It's been missing for I don't even know how long (just like my DS, I don't use it that much) but it's been gone for probably about a year. And then my brother found it while he was washing laundry. So I'm happy about that :)