Elevate Game Training Review

If anyone is looking for a great game to train your brain or for your kids, then the Elevate App is for you. I started training with it again, and I love it because I think any kid, adult, or young adult can learn from it. I know this will be a short review but I hope that if you decide to check it out, then you will give it a chance. You can find the game on the app store.

My Interview with Author Margaret Peterson Haddix

Alright so not too long ago, on Thursday I had private messaged the author Margaret Peterson Haddix and asked if I could interview her for my blog and she wrote back and said sure. I thought that was pretty cool that she agreed and she also told me as long as it was only a few questions. So I said okay and had asked my first question. So now, I present my first interview question that I asked. Also I thanked her, for agreeing to let me interview her because I thought it was nice of her to do. After I had asked my questions, I thanked her for her time and thanked her for the books she writes. I also shared a little bit about myself, along with my senior project video I made back in 2013. 

Me: ''What was the inspiration for The Shadow Children Series?''

Margaret Peterson Haddix: ''Hi Elizabeth, you can find info about my inspiration for Among The Hidden here: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhaddixbooks.com%2Fbook%2Famong-the-hidden%2F%3Fpg%3Dfaq&h=ATNLGn3ySsahRf3I_5sSew0kOtJezWL69kLt6EiPXG5vF0iLqxa_VcqTG7Ay9XDBMt86wIuCMIT5xO7RCMvQEpIY4hjurRcNHkX2tKxH6WfzVLPLA3xX . ''

Me: ''How long was it before you knew you wanted to write books?''

Margaret Peterson Haddix: ''I started thinking about wanting to be a writer when I was in third grade.'' ''I didn't think of it as a realistic dream, though, something I enjoyed.''

Me: '' What do you do that helps you when you get writers block?

Margaret Peterson Haddix: ''As far as how I deal with writers block, I try to plan ahead to prevent it, but sometimes it happens anyway. If it's not too bad, I make myself keep going, and tell myself that even if my writing is really bad, I can always go back and revise.'' ''If that's just making me more frustrated, I step away from what I'm working on, and either exercise or do some really, really boring chore that lets my mind wander and solve the problem in the story I'm working on.'' ''Sometimes it takes awhile, but eventually that usually works.'' ''Anyhow best of luck to you with your writing!'' ''I hope you achieve all of your dreams!'' ''All best, Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Me: ''Thank you so much, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.''

Top 14 books that I recommend

1. Pride and Prejudice 
2. Wonder 
3. Nancy Drew
4. Hardy Boys
5. Rules
6. The Shadow Children Series
7. Angels On Earth
8. Save Me
9. Out of my mind
10. Gideon's Gift
11. Tuck Everlasting
12. The Castle Corona 
13. Julius Cesar 
14. Romeo and Juliet 

Allison's Choice Movie Review

If I could describe what this movie was about, I wouldn't know where to begin. I wouldn't even how to begin describing what this movie is about. All I know, after watching a movie like this is that no child's life should ever be taken away too soon. You see in the beginning, there was a girl in love with this guy named Rick, and she talks about him a lot, but she says he loves her and she loves him. Although, she is a young girl who could have a lot of things that would make her life better than the choices she's made. She has the toughest choice that she needs to make before it could be too late. You see not only is she a young girl, she is a girl who is about to have a baby, a baby as best described by a character in the movie that tells her that her baby deserves to live and not die. Although because she doesn't really know what she wants, she thinks the best choice for her is to terminate the pregnancy, because she thinks she is not ready to be a mother. Although what she didn't realize is that God is trying to help her but help her make the right decision of what to do about her baby. In our world there are abortions, where people do give up their babies. I think it's wrong but it's not my place to tell people who do it to not because they may not listen to me, because when it comes to difficult things like from what I watched and just finished, then we have to trust God and trust that He will help us when we need Him to help those who have these difficult choices to make. I don't know what else to say about the movie, or how to describe it but, I can tell you it's something people should see. I thought it was going to be something where I would stop watching it and then watch something else, but I didn't and I continued to watch it. I watched it because it was a good movie and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good movie to watch. If you don't have what it is called Pure Flix,  then maybe see if you can find it on dvd. It's not for kids who are young and definitely not for kids who are older then their siblings. No, if I had to give this movie a rating of where it stands for people who could watch it, I would give it a 1-10 of teens, young adults, and adults who are older and can understand what is being said in this film because I feel like these are the kind of people who can understand what the characters in the movie are trying to get across and what they are trying to do. I believe it did have some messages from it, that show up on the screen too. So it's your decision, will you decide to watch the movie Allison's Choice or will you choose to watch something different? Whatever you decide to do, it's up to you and I definitely recommend it.

Flappy Type Game Review

Yesterday I was looking for new apps in the app store and I came across a game called Flappy Type. It's like Flappy Bird only you're typing the words on the screen. I think it's genius because if you're looking for a way to expand vocabulary or your just looking for a way to type better and faster, then I highly recommend this game. When you go to the score on the home screen it shows you the games you played, along with how many letters and words you typed. I enjoy playing it because it's something that gives you a time limit but it also gives you the chance to type familiar words, familiar letters, and learn new words along the way. There are words that I've typed while playing and I didn't even know they were words. I don't even know what they mean. Although, I'll probably look them up later to see what they mean. I did know one of the words and that was inconsequential, I had used that word in one of my stories I wrote, after I looked up its meaning. If you liked Flappy Bird and you like games that involve typing then this game is for you, but if you don't enjoy that sort of thing then don't get it and don't play it. There is always going to be some game or app or anything really that someone else will not like, and that's okay. It's okay to be different and like different things, but it's also okay to have things in common with others who like the same things too. Anyway, I hope that this review helps you and I hope it helps you decide whether or not to get the game. I know this is the second review that I did today, but I felt it was important to share with all of you because if I didn't then you wouldn't have known about it and I always want my readers to know about things that I write about and know that I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have or take any suggestions that you may have for my next post. Either way, I hope you have enjoyed me telling you about this game and I hope you will consider taking a look at it to decide whether or not you want to get it for yourself or for your kids who are old enough to play a game like this. I do think it is a game for any teen, adult, young adult or older kids who know how to read. I do however think this game is not for kids that don't know how to type, read, or write yet. I think whenever they are old enough and they have learned what they needed to learn, then and only then I think they would enjoy this game. I can't decide if your kids who are younger can play this because I'm not their parent, but that's just  my opinion of what I think about for the game. Well, until next time please enjoy tonight's game review.

Wonder Movie Review

I watched the movie Wonder today, and I thought it was an amazing movie. The movie is something people should see, but before you see it read the book and before you read the book and watch the movie, watch or read the real story and then when you do, read the book Wonder. Next after you finish reading the book, then watch the movie. I can honestly say as someone who likes to write, and as a person who knows what it's like to not feel accepted or feel left out by not having very many friends. When they said this movie was a family movie for everyone, they were not kidding because it was a good movie and it shows that the character Auggie Pullman who was different from his classmates that sometimes when there may seem like there are kids that don't know what to say, or don't even know what you have been through, then that's maybe when they should stop and think before they say something they could regret. In the movie kids called Auggie names and they didn't understand what made him the way he did. Especially when this kid Julian and his other friends made fun of him because he was different and yet throughout the movie, somehow things changed for Auggie. Yes he was different, and didn't look like his peers but somehow along the way some kids except for Julian, saw past his differences and accepted him for who he was and he had people in his life who accepted him, and were nice to him. There was a message, and I think we see this message in schools now, and that is choose kind. I think  that if we make good choices on how we choose to be to one another then maybe we would have less and less people in this world who wouldn't think to be mean to someone who is different from them. I mean yes I am different and unique in many ways but it doesn't stop me from being nice to those who may be having a bad day or just might feel the same way I do with having trouble making friends and not being included in most things. If you have the time, and if you have been wanting to see this movie, then I highly recommend it. Now no matter what someone may say to you, or what they might be thinking just remember that someone out there who might understand what you've gone through or not, will be there for you and will listen to you and learn more about you. They will do all these things, because I think we all have this in common and that's our stories. In one of Matthew West's Songs, one of the lyrics go like this: Is this the end or only the beginning. I feel that are stories, our testimonies are only the beginning and won't be the end for a long while, till we go to Heaven to begin our new life and we are rejoicing with our loved ones. So that's my review, and whatever you decide to do, I hope you give it a chance because it was good.

Review of Season Finale of Abc's Game Show Child Support

I just finished watching a show I like and love. It's called Child Support. Yes, I realize I put that in the title but I felt like I needed to explain it in my post. Now this is a game show where people can win up to two hundred thousand dollars in cash. If they get a question wrong the kids can save them, but if the kids do not know the answer then their game is over and they leave with nothing. I don't know if you have watched this show or not but if you haven't I highly recommend it. I recommend it because, one it's a really good show and two it's a show for the entire family. I played along while watching and with the first contestant, who did alright, but then didn't. I had gotten 4 right but I didn't know one. With the next contestant, who came to play after the first, I was doing well and got most of these questions right but there were some tough ones I didn't know. I thought I knew the last answer but I didn't, but the kids did, which helped this last contestant. I don't want to explain everything that happened in the season finale because I want you to see for yourselves. If you have on demand, I recommend that you go to ABC on demand and go to Child Support, and start with episode one and so on, and if episode six isn't on demand yet then no worries because I'm sure eventually it will be. So when it does happen, after you get through the first episode and have watched the others. Then watch six, because you won't regret it. Trust me when I say this has become one of my favorite game shows on Friday nights, because not only does it make you think, but it allows you to challenge yourself and it gives you and your kids a learning experience. How can it be a learning experience you may ask? Well, the answer is very simple. It can be a learning experience because even though these are trivia questions, they are questions that have to do with things that we have either seen, learned, it can be about anything. You never know what the questions may be until they are asked. That's when it becomes time for you to really think carefully before answering. I've had to do that, but even if my guess may have been wrong for some of the ones I did not know, that's okay because it doesn't stop me from trying my best to answer the question after the one that has already been asked. It's also a learning experience because if you get it wrong, and the contestants get it wrong, but the kids know the answer, then you will be able to learn what the correct answer was, but remember it if you may get asked that question someplace else. For example, if one of those questions were on a test or quiz. I can't wait for it to come back, and if you have seen it great, if not then I only suggest give it a chance, because who knows you may end up liking it or you may not, but that's something you have to decide. I love and like it, because it's entertaining, educational, fun, and it's just an awesome show.

Kaccha Limboo Movie Review

In the beginning of the movie Kaccha Limboo , there is a boy named Shambu. He was a boy who was definitely misunderstood by his peers. His peers didn't understand him, let alone get to understand him. They called him names, they were not very nice. When it seemed they were going to let him be apart of something, they just laughed, and left him. They were always trying to argue because well there was a lot of disagreements with the characters. I felt as though this movie on Netflix was a movie that little kids who are too young to understand things that they talked about is not a movie for them, however I do think it is a movie for people who are older and can understand what is happening in the movie. I recommend to the parents that if you have teenagers or kids who are old enough to watch this sort of film, and not young, I strongly and highly recommend that you watch it first, just so you can decide for yourself if it is something you want your kids to watch.  I watched the movie but it had English captions because the characters at times were not speaking English. This movie was a 2011 Indian Movie, but even though the main character as I've already mentioned in the beginning, was a teenager who was 13 and misunderstood, I felt like there were things that he felt like he had to do but after watching this movie, and looking up this movie online, so I could tell you what type of movie it was, I've realized from everything I read online too, was that he also had to face things. I don't want to spoil this movie for you because I want you to see it for yourself, so that you can decide if it is something you like or not. I will however leave you with this. I know in my last movie review I said there were life lessons in every movie, or show. Well I believe this movie definitely had life lessons and what we could do to learn from what we do. I'm not saying that we don't make mistakes, because we do once in a while, but I know that it is ok, because when we do make one or someone we may not even know, makes one. Then that's okay because we learn from it. If you do decide to watch this movie, just be reminded that no matter how they speak or what they say or do, is one way we can show a little bit of kindness but also not act the way most of the characters from this movie acted towards one another. I've also learned, after watching this movie that there are good people and there people that are not so great, but that shouldn't stop us from being kind. I mean wouldn't you want to live in a world where there was peace and love towards each other? With that being said, I hope that whatever you decide, that you'll enjoy this movie either way.

Milton's Secret Movie Review

In the 2016 movie called Milton's Secret, there's a boy named Milton Adams. Milton is what you would call someone who has friends, but has trouble with dealing with a classmate who is what you call rude, mean, and just not kind towards his peers. His name in the movie, is Carter. Now as I already mentioned Carter isn't anything like Milton, but there are some similarities between the two. For instance, both Carter and Milton I felt wanted to be heard, not ignored but heard. I also saw how they both had tons of frustration, but Carter mainly picked on Milton. He called him things, but instead of saying I'm sorry to Milton, he decided to give certain demands that were threats to do this or else kind of thing. For Milton that was hard for him, because he had trouble speaking to those who may not have always been paying attention, due to other things that were going on. For Milton's friend Tim, he was Milton's best friend, but when something happened at school, Milton's best friend didn't do anything, except watch. Now before Milton's best friend comes to Milton's house, there is a part in the movie where Milton's grandfather comes to visit and helps Milton see things differently. He helped Milton to see that he shouldn't worry about things and just focus on the present. I would like to write more about what I watched, but I don't want to spoil it for all of you. I don't want to spoil it because it's something I would watch again, but I want to leave that choice up to you. I want to leave you with that choice because I don't know if it is going to have the same impact on me as it will you. If you decide to watch it and you have kids that are older, than after you watch it then you can decide if it's something you want your older kids to watch or not. I would not recommend it for younger viewers that are not old enough to understand what they talk about in a movie like this. I however would recommend it to kids who are old enough to see and understand what they mention and how the characters in the movie act. Although that is your choice, if they are allowed to watch it or not. I believe no matter what movie someone watches, or no matter what they may say or do in the movie, I strongly believe that there is always some sort of life lesson or lessons, to be learned. Although this movie was fiction, and not reality I really do believe that was being said and done in the movie, from the characters actions and sayings, are things that can happen in real life. So in conclusion, I thought it was a good movie and now the choice is yours to either watch it or not watch it.

Guatemala Holidays

 November 1/2: All Saints Day / Day of the Dead In the town of Santiago Sacatepepequez near Antigua, giant kites are flown in the cemeteries in an effort to communicate with the deceased. Throughout Guatemala, fiambre—a salad made up of deceased relatives favorite ingredients—is traditionally served.

December 7: Burning of the Devil Guatemalans gather everything worth burning—such as waste paper and old household items—and set it ablaze to cleanse their homes for the holy weeks to come.

December 13-21: Tribute to Santo Tomás In Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, there is a big festival that mixes Christian and Mayan traditions with lots of fireworks and dancing. On the last day, people swing from a rope around a pole, known as palo volador.

December 25: Christmas Day Guatemalans celebrate Christmas throughout the entire month of December, placing large emphasis on the nativity scene.

December 31: New Years Eve An abundance of fireworks make this the nosiest of all Guatemalan holidays. Tamales are traditionally eaten at midnight.

There is also a Mayan New Year celebration that celebrates life and renewal. Since the Mayan calendar has 260 days, the date varies. Each town in Guatemala also has its own holiday, usually dedicated to exalting the town's patron saint.

October 20: Revolution Day On this day, Guatemala celebrates the “October Revolution,”when dictator Jorge Ubico was overthrown in 1944. In Guatemala City, thousands of people celebrate in the streets near Plaza Mayor. Expect lots of music, dance, and as always, fireworks.

Guatemala is a very diverse country with more than 20 ethnic groups. Each of them has their own special traditions for celebrating Christmas.

Most Guatemalans, like other Latin-American counties, plan and build, with the entire family, a Nativity Scene called a "Nacimiento" or "Belen". Although it is originally a Spanish tradition, many indigenous (Guatemalan) elements are now used in the design and construction of the Nativity scenes. The "Nacimiento" is normally put under the Christmas Tree. One unique characteristic of Guatemalan Nativity scenes is the use of sawdust dyed in many bright colors.

n Christmas Eve families celebrate together and eat the main Christmas meal. It is made of several traditional dishes, but it always includes some Guatemalan tamales. In some regions they are made of corn and other of rice or potatoes. They can be sweet or not, and have several different ingredients inside like olives, prunes, peppers, chicken or pork.

Everyone waits until midnight to light hundreds of fireworks or firecrackers to celebrate the birth of Jesus. A family prayer is said around the tree and it is the custom to open the presents shortly after midnight.

Here are just some holidays I thought I would share with you because I thought they were interesting and these are not mine, I found them on two different websites.