Trip to Tennessee

Hello everyone!!
I am sorry that I am posting so late and I'm sorry that I didn't post yesterday.

My family and I all went on a small vacation to Tennessee this past weekend and it was amazing! I enjoyed every minute of it.

We left Friday morning at about six and made it to Tennessee at about 5 or 6 in the evening. We took two vehicles, my family is large. I am one of five children. My mom, her husband, and two of my siblings rode in one car, while my two younger sisters and I rode in another.

My younger sister drove because she can't stand riding in the passenger seat. We were jamming out to music the whole way. It was great.

Once we made it to Tennessee we checked into the cabin that we were staying in. We stayed in the cabins on Legacy Mountain. The view from the cabin is gorgeous! Theres no wifi in the cabin but there was a pool table so we played pool for the majority of the time that we were at the cabin. It was nice to not have wifi.

Once we checked into the cabin and put all of our stuff away we went into town and ate at Cicis Pizza. After we ate we just walked around.
We went into the Titanic museum. This museum is amazing. You are given a device to listen to facts about the items that are in the museum. The outside of the museum looks like the Titanic boat which I thought was cool.

Day two we went to the Hollywood Wax Museum, which I loved. This museum is set up in a really cool way. There's props in the museum so you can pose with the wax figures. The outside of the museum is great. There is a building that looks like a castle that was right next to the wax museum so we went in there. In this castle there's a hall of mirrors, a 5D ride, and a zombie maze. The zombie thing was the best in my opinion. It scared the crap out of me and my voice was hoarse after that because of all I did was screams. We went through this zombie thing in a line. The people we didn't know went first, then it was my little brother, my younger sister had a hold of him, my youngest sister had a hold of her, I had a hold of my youngest sister, then my mom had a hold of me, and then my moms husband and my older sister were last.

If you got confused I will put it this way: people we didn't know, child #5, child #3, child #4, child #2 (me), my mom, my moms husband, and child #1. When we were younger my mother used to call us by our number (which was given to us in the order of oldest to youngest) when she was angry because all of our names start with M's. Sometimes she would trip herself up when she was trying to get one of our attention and it was hilarious.

After the wax museum and the castle we went to Gatlinburg. We walked around and ate. Then we went on this rollercoaster. I have never been on a rollercoaster like this. This rollercoaster didn't have connecting carts and the person riding had to pull down the levers once you got to the top of the hill to make it go. To make it stop you had to pull the levers back. There were times when I was on this rollercoaster and I had to slow down because I thought my cart was going to tip over. It was fun though.

Day three we went Zip lining from mountain top to mountain top. We all didn't go just child #3, child #4, my mom, and I. I was nervous at first but it was really fun. What made me nervous was the fact that I had to sign a waiver that said that this could give you emotional or physical damage, such as back problems or death. I read the first two paragraphs and I signed it. I thought it was better to not read it all. Once it said something about death I quit reading. I just texted my friends and asked them to pray for me. I was keeping my fingers crossed that all the equipment was up to par. It was. I am okay and the zip line was amazing. Probably my favorite part of the vacation. We had two guys as our guides, Han Solo (who's from the Czech Republic. That is the name he goes by in the US because I guess no one can pronounce his name here.) and Kiro. Before we went on any zip lines they gave us instructions on what to do. The main thing they said was not to hold down on the brake to hard because your arm will pop back and it will hurt. We had a brake, which I not sure what it was, that was attached to some gloves. The brake was on your dominant hand. Well I held down to hard on my brake and it came off while I was on the zip line. I was shouting to Han Solo that I have no brakes. I was afraid I was going to crash!!
Kiro had an extra brake so he just stuck it on my glove.

After the zip line we all went to Wonder Works. I had a terrible headache so I didn't enjoy it that much. It is hard to explain Wonder Works. It reminds me of a Dave and Busters but it had facts about things and art.
It was interesting.

Later that night child #1, child #5, and my moms husband went to the Dixie Stampede. They enjoyed it.

Day 4 we checked out of the cabin and explored Pigeon Forge, the town we stayed in. We went go carting, which was amazing. Then we got on the road and drove.

Well that was what we did on our family vacation. If you have been to Tennessee and have done any of this stuff let me know. If you have been to Tennessee and did some other fun things let me know because if we go back it would be nice to do something different.

Thank you for reading this LONG post.
I hope you all have a good day (or night for me).
~Mariah

Should I or Shouldn't I???

Hello everyone!

Today I am questioning whether I should read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. This series has been on my TBR for a while now but after watching a video discussing the series I don't know if I really want to read it.

I just recently watched Trina's, from Between Chapters on YouTube, video on why she wouldn't be continuing on with the series and what she said kind of makes me want to not read it at all. I will link her video here. I suggest you go watch it. She does mention spoilers for the first two books. I have already watched the first two seasons so I know what happens. Just thought I would give you a heads up.

In Trina's video one thing she talks about is how the word rape is used in most instances instead of the word sex. Using one word instead of the other gives a totally different context to the scene. Obviously.

I have not read any of the books but I have watched the TV show. I am trying to think back to season one to see if I remember any rape scenes between Claire and Jamie. I don't think there was any. I might have to rewatch the first season to refresh my memory. I know that there were instances where he threatened to hit her.
There was one scene in the season 2 finale that I thought was disturbing/sort of rape-esque. The scene I am referring to is the one right before Claire touches the stones. (If you have watched the season finale I think you know what I am talking about.) I didn't think that that was needed. It was just very odd.

I just can't decide. Part of me does want to read it, just to see if I feel the same way Trina does or to see if I enjoy the books like a lot of the people who have read the series, and another part of me doesn't want to read it because of the things that Trina mentions in her video.

I am very split with this issue. I have really enjoyed watching Clare and Jamie's story plays out. There are many factors to consider.
The bad:
1. This series is a commitment. There are eight books in this series and all of the books are huge.
2. The use of the word rape instead of sex and the idea that their relationship isn't a healthy one.
The good:
3. If I read them then I would know where their stories go.
4. I really am enjoying the world in the story.

I need help deciding. Do you feel the same way Trina feels or do you feel differently about the series? Let me know what you thought of the series if you have read it.

Thank you for reading.
I hope you have a great day!
~Mariah

Goals for the rest of 2016

Hello everyone!

I think that it is always a good idea to have several goals for yourself to complete throughout the year.  Earlier this year I wrote a post about the goals I wanted to complete this year.
I thought today I could could check in with the previous goals that I made and make some new goals.
At the beginning of the year my goals were very simple. Drink more water, walk more, read more, etc.

I think that I am doing pretty good on the walking part. I have not reached 10,000 steps a day like my Fitbit says I should but at least I am walking. My Fitbit says that I average 6,000 steps a day.
I am not drinking as much water as I should. (I am currently on vacation and have not met my water goal at all this week.)
I have completed 19 novels so far this year but I am 5 books behind. :(

Now that I have updated you on my goals from the beginning of the year I want to get into the goals that I have made for myself for the rest of the year.

1. I am going to try to not buy anymore books. 

If you see any book hauls on my Instagram or on here those books were bought in the past. I recently stopped by Goodwill and got some books. If I end up going back on this goal I will let you know. 

The reason I am making this goal is because I want to save up money for things like college, a camera, and (maybe) BEA 2017. The twenty dollars or so that I spend every month or every two months may not seem like much to save but it will add up at the end of the year.

2. Read the books that I own that are on my TBR.

This goal goes along with goal 1. I have 42+ books on my TBR. I think that is the most unread books that I have ever had in my life. I don't like that there are so many books that I own that have not been read.

3. I want to be more daring/outgoing.

I am a very introverted person. If you have seen any of my YouTube videos you probably caught on to that. This goal is mainly aimed at the August-December months because that is when school is in session. I want to force myself to join clubs and volunteer. I want to experience more.

I know that three new goals is not a lot but it is a start. I might end up adding more as time goes on. What goals do you have set for yourself this year?

Thanks for reading.

I hope you have a great day!

 ~Mariah

Biannual Bibliothon Wrap Up!

Hello everyone!!!
This past week, July 3-9, was the Biannual Bibliothon. For those of you who do not know what the Biannual Bibliothon is, it is a read-a-thon with challenges to complete during the week.
I decided last minute that I wanted to participate in this read-a-thon so that is why I did not make a blog post about what I planned to read but I did post on Instagram.
There were seven challenges for the summer Biannual Bibliothon and here they are along with the books that complete the challenges.

1 Read the group book-The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson  

2 & 3 Read a book you have been putting of // a free choice- All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 

4 Read a book off of the hosts list of recommendations-Abarat by Clive Barker

5 Read a book with your favorite mythical creature- Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

6 & 7 Read a book from an author you have never read before // read a book in a different format than you usually do- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

I am listening to this book. 

I did not end up reading all the books that I planned to. The last three days of the read-a-thon I had planned on cramming in as much reading as possible but I had a change of plans last minute. A family member needed someone to watch her animals so I volunteered. 

During this last week I only completed two books which stinks. The two books that I completed were The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. 

The first book that I complete was The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up by Marie Kondo. I listened to this as an audiobook which is something I hardly ever do. I have listened to one other audiobook in my life. Listening to a book is not something I normally do because usually half way through the book I end up forgetting what I listened to. I space out when I listen to audiobooks. 

When I was listening to this book I wasn't spacing out. I was actually enjoying what I was listening to. I gave this book a 3 stars on Goodreads. 

The reason that I gave this book three stars was because it was repetitive and I did not like the idea of talking to your furniture, home, or clothes. Talking to objects is strange thing to do but I understood why she does/says to do this and that is because it gives/shows that every item has a purpose.

After finishing this book I wanted to clean the entire house. If I had not already gone through my items and discarded what I didn’t want I would have done so after listening this book.

The next and last book that I completed during this read-a-thon was The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. 

I have some conflicting thoughts about this book. I am still trying to decide if I should stick with what I rated this book or to change the rating. I rated this book a 4 stars on Goodreads.

I will keep this spoiler free. 

The Unexpected Everything is about how Andie's plans for the summer change at the last minute. She had planned on going to a med camp over the summer but a political scandal involving father, who is a congressman, causes her plans to change. Instead of going to med camp Andie gets a job as a dog walker and meets a boy. 

I want to talk about what I did not like about the book first.

1. I found some parts of the plot predictable. 

2. I did not like Toby's. There is an issue at the end of the book between Toby and Bri (who are best friends) and Toby lets that issue ruin their friendship. I have never been in a situation like that so maybe I have no room to talk but if that happened to me I don't think that I would have acted like Toby did. 

3. There were also times where Andie annoyed me. She tries to control everything in the hope that if everything is controlled nothing will go wrong. Well things went wrong...

I want to end on a happy note so here are the parts that I liked.

1. The scavenger hunt. This was my favorite part in the book. 

2. The friendships. I loved all the group texts and meet ups at the diner.

3. The romantic relationships.

4. There is one quote in this book that I loved:

It says "'You have to take your chances. Go and attempt and see what happens. And even if you fail-especially if you fail-come back with your experience and your hard-won knowledge and a story you can tell. And then later you can say, without regret or hesitation....'Once, I dared to dare greatly.'"

I love this quote. I think that this quote encompasses the entire theme of this novel.

So I completed two books and three of the challenges, which I don't think is to bad. If you have read these two books let me know your thoughts or if you have read any of the books mentioned in this post let me know your thoughts! (Please no spoilers.)

Thank you for reading.

I hope you have a great day.

~Mariah

November 9 Review

Hello everyone!

I feel like it has been a while since I have wrote a review post and I knew once I finished November 9 that I had to write a review.

If you have not heard of this book it is about how two people, Ben and Fallon, met on November 9th and spent the day together. They plan to meet up every year on November 9th at the same place they met on the first November 9th. Ben lives in LA and Fallon just moved to New York. Ben is aspiring author and Fallon hopes to make it on Broadway. This story, like most of Colleen Hoovers novels, is about their relationship and how they go up against odds to try to make it work. 

I gave November 9 a 3.5/5 stars on Goodreads.

I don't want this review to have spoilers. I just want to say some things about the novel that caused me to lower the rating. 

1) I didn't like Ben and Fallon's relationship. I just didn't find it believable/realistic at times.

2) I didn't like Fallons' decision at the end of the book. 

3) When Fallon was angry at Ben on, I think, the fourth November 9th, when he told Fallon about some of the decisions that he made for himself and Oliver it made me angry. I am trying to be vague and not give anything away for those of you who have not read the book. I hope those of you who have read the book get what I am trying to say. 

4) I completely did not like the plot twist. It made me so angry that I wanted to stop reading the book right then and there but I carried on hoping the book would get better.

The thing that I did love about this book was the writing. Colleen Hoover can write some amazing books. The writing just flowed and because of that I read this book in a day. 

I really enjoyed the scene where Ben met Fallon's dad in the restaurant. It was cute.

Another thing that I loved was that there were characters from Ugly Love in this book. I would recommend that you read Ugly Love before you read November 9 because there are some spoilers for the ending of Ugly Love in November 9.

I am not sure what else I can say about November 9.

I have now read 3 books by Colleen Hover. Ugly Love, Confess, and November 9. These are in the order of how I read them and favorite to least favorite.

Let me know down below in the comments if you have read November 9 and what you thought. Also let me know what Colleen Hoover book, if you have read any of her books, is your favorite!

Thank you for reading.

I hope you have a great day. 

~Mariah

What Has Happened | June 2016

**Before I get into todays post I wanted to say that the blog surpassed 2,000 pages views this month!! Thank you to everyone who reads my posts!!**

(I wrote this post in the month of June so there are a lot of times that I say this month. I just want you to know that I am referring to what I did in June not July.)

Hello everyone!!

Today I wanted to publish a different kind of post on my blog. Today I want to talk about what I did in the month of June and what my goals are for July.

This month has been crazy! It has felt like the most productive month I have had so far and I hope to continue this productive streak in the months to come.

The first thing that I have been doing this month is helping my grandmother in the backyard. She is creating a masterpiece of a garden.
When the garden is complete I want to write a blog post about it. Ahh, I can't wait.

The second thing that I have done this month is I have finalized my schedule for the fall semester at the college I am attending. I am going for my Associates in Science. I am not sure yet what I am going to major in when/if I go to a university. I have a few ideas on the environment I want to work in but I have not picked an occupation.

Next! I was so happy with myself about this until last week. :( I made a terrarium. For those of you who do not know what that is here is a picture of the one I put together.

That was what my terrarium looked like last week. 

This is what it looks like now. :(

I ended up over watering it and 1 1/2 plants have died. I am going to call the one in the back Harry for two reasons. 1) He is the only one who lived (Harry Potter reference!!) and 2) there is actually little hairs on this plant. I will be putting Harry in a smaller pot because the last one in there is pretty much gone. So sad. I had high hopes for my terrarium.

One thing that I would love to put in future end of the month life posts is my fitness, water intake and steps. I didn't keep track this month but next month I will! :)

The last thing that I am proud of doing this month is I read six books. This has been the best reading month for me so far. I discussed all the books that I read on my YouTube Channel. Here is the link if you want to check it out. YouTube Channel

On to my Goals!

My goals for next month are short and simple. 

1. I would like to walk at least 10,000 steps twice a week.
2. I want to keep track of my water intake.
1. I want to drink more water. I drink maybe 48 ounces a day. I would like to drink about 72 ounces. 
3. I would like to publish two blog posts a week. Probably on Tuesday and Friday.

For the last month or so all it seems/feels like all I am posting is content about books. Don't get me wrong I absolutely LOVE talking about books but that is not all I want this blog to be about. It is call Plethora of Nonsense for a reason. I have been thinking about ideas for posts for my blog and videos for my YouTube channel. I want to be more active on both.

I love posting every week on my blog but for a month I want to try posting twice a week on here and maybe once a week or once every two weeks on my YouTube channel. My main focus will always be my blog. I enjoy YouTube but at the moment I am really into blogging. So I may fall behind in videos but I will try my hardest to keep up with my blog.

I might publish one post a week about books but the other post I want it to be about something else. Maybe about a night out, what I did during the week, maybe some recipes, or DIY projects. When I was in high school I loved to bake. I usually used box cakes and stuff that had instructions on it. I would love to get back into baking. The main thing is that I want to bring variety to my blog. I want more on here than just discussions on books.

If you made it this far in the post great! I know it is very long I just wanted to fill you in about everything that I did this month and my plans for July.

What did you do this month?

Thanks for reading!

I hope you have a good day.

~Mariah