Cupcakes

MY NOT-SO-RED VELVET CUPCAKES

(We didn't put in enough red food coloring)

Before the cupcakes went in the oven!

We made 30 cupcakes. My dad got mad at me, because he said that 30 was too much. I made the cupcakes by myself at 11:00 in the night. We got back from the store at 10:30 PM, and my dad told me not to make them, but I decided to be my stubborn self and made them by myself late at night.

I'm quite proud.




The cupcakes tasted amazing, not to brag or anything. As you can see, a lot of them are already gone.

 :(

I told everyone to stay away, but no one listened to me. Grr....

Sugary things never seem to last long in this house, anyways. :P

My brother and I made icing. It tasted delicious! We made cream cheese frosting. You know how red velvet cupcakes are usually iced with cream cheese frosting? Best combination ever, if you ask me.

My mom used to do a lot of baking and all that, but it all stopped when she started working. :(

She had to ice a few for us, because when my brother and I tried, it was a disaster. I popped the icing bag by accident. It was a mess.

The cupcakes tasted amazing! They only lasted 2 days. In fact, a good amount of them were gone before we had the chance to frost them. Thanks to my brother and his never-ending hunger. *SIGH* Teenage boys, you know?



We are obviously not what you would call amazing at frosting cupcakes.

:P

YUM!

Greece Summary

I read over the last post and I realized I would probably bore you if I went over details of my 15 days in Greece. So, I'll just give you some facts and all that.

We went on a 4 day bus tour (really awesome) which is basically a nice, private bus--the kind where the driver is a level below the passengers....not a double decker. You can find a picture online if you search up "tour bus" on google images.

We drove all around Greece. We had an excellent tour guide. She obviously knew her stuff. She used to be an archaeologist. She was born and raised in Greece and, obviously, still living there.

There were a lot of other people on the bus. My brother and I were the only children on the tour, at least we thought so until we met an 8th grader, who I had mistaken for a young adult--who was here was on vacation with her mother and aunt.

Everyone on the bus got to know each other really well. Everyone was really friendly.

Basically, we drove all around Greece--urban and rural areas, while our amazing guide told us about stuff. We stopped once in a while. 

We saw so much. Everyone had bought their luggage with them and kept it in the suitcase compartment of the tour bus.  

We saw so many excavations and ruins and so much more! We stopped in many places such as Epidavros, Korinthos (Korinth Canal), where we spent a few hours before we hit the road again.

Our tour guide would take us for lunch and in the night, she took us to a hotel, where we the spent the night.

First Night: Olympia (we saw the first olympic stadium)

Second Night: Delphi

Third Night: Meteora (AMAZING)

Fourth Night: We were dropped off at Athens...the tour had ended. :(

After that we spent 2 days in Athens. We saw the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum and much more.

Then, we went on a 4 day cruise (It was really fun) around the Greek islands. We saw Crete, Rhodes, Patmos, Mykinos and then the Santorini (where the people who wanted to be dropped off at Santorini, were dropped off at Santorini, which included my family) We spent 4 days in Santorini. It was beautiful!

We just chilled for the most part and we stayed in an AMAZING hotel (Volcano View). 

I might upload a few pictures soon.

BYE!!!
RiRi B.

Day 1 - Monday - 7/1/13

In order to reach Greece, it was necessary to take 2 flights. We flew from the Philadelphia airport to Rome, and then to Athens. Once we arrived in Athens, we found out that the Athens Airport is actually an hour away from the city. :(

We hopped on a bus and rode into the city.

We were supposed to stay in Central Hotel, which is in the Plaka district, and within walking distance of everything. It was very easy to get around.

We checked in at the hotel and my father went by X95 bus from Sytagma Square --which he still can not pronounce right and says Sygatma instead-- to pick up another family member from the Athens airport who was joining us for the trip.

While that happened, my brother and I chilled in our hotel room --which basically means that we were playing Tiny Tower for hours on end--while our mother was 3 floors up in her hotel room. Since there were 5 of us --including the anonymous family member, who was joining us in only a few hours-- we had 2 hotel rooms. My mother and my father were in Room 408 and the A.F.M. (Anonymous Family Member), my brother and I were in Room 109.

Sadly, we couldn't get the rooms close to each other.

Of course, since Room 109 was much bigger and spacious since it was for 3 people, all the suitcases had to go in Room 109. :(

I have a feeling that I'm giving out too much information.

It was long before my father arrived back at Room 109 with A.F.M. My mother came down from Room 408 where she was sleeping to say hi to A.F.M.

Are the abbreviations annoying you? Yes, I also get that feeling when I don't know something. My bad.

It was a relaxing day despite the plane rides and all that. At around 6:00, since my father is addicted to exercising --especially biking and walking-- informed us that we were walking around the city. We found an amazing Greek restaurant --It was called Meatropolis, not the Metropolis-- and we ate there.

 It wasn't far from our hotel, like I said, since the hotel was in the middle of everything, transportation was not a problem.

I soon found that Greek food is delicious.

We walked around some more and we found a little bakery and got a small dessert. Usually, at home, back in U.S.A., we never eat dessert, but since we were on vacation, we made sure we had a little extra room for sugar-filled treats.

We ended the night by walking back to Central Hotel, where we fell into deep snores. Yes, I snore in my sleep. Don't judge me.

Lights out, Athens.

GREECE

On June 31st, my family and I hopped on a plane to Greece. It wasn't a very long flight. It was 10 hours to Italy, where we had a 2 hour layover and then only 2 hours to Athens from Rome.

We had an amazing time in Greece! It's so historic and beautiful and everything was breathtaking. There were several excavation sites and so much more. Before we left for Greece, I had a lot of knowledge on Greek Mythology, because I am obsessed with Rick Riordan's amazing novels. I had also researched Greek Mythology and bought a book on it.

So, naturally, I had always wanted to go to Greece.

I wrote a journal on my trip to Greece and I have decided to share it with you.

Please Enjoy

Keep Reading,
RiRi B.

:)

Double Post #2

Hello wonderful readers!
It's RiRi B again. I vaguely remember posting the Double Post Part I on April 1st and I decided not to let you down and keep my word......so.....I'm doing Double Post Part II! I don't really remember why I said I was going to do a Part II, but, oh well.

I'm not quite sure what to blog about......

I know....BOOKS!!!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm an extreme bookworm and I would rather read books than play video games (my brother just gets sports games for the XBOX 360 and the Wii.....it's just there). Everytime I see my other bookworm friend, we discuss Rick Riordan's AMAZING books (which I am currently over-obsessed with) and great authors like Suzanne Collins, Lois Lowry, J.K. Rowling and more. 

So...let us discuss!

SERIES:

Trenton Lee Stewart ---   The Mysterious Benedict Society Series

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Book 1 : The Mysterious Benedict Society
Book 2 : The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
Book 3: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

Individual Book: The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

This series is one of my all time favorites. The individual book is about one of the older characters in The Mysterious Benedict Society and how he grew up. I'm currently reading this book and I'll blog about it soon!

Rick Riordan --- Percy Jackson & The Olympians and Heroes of Olympus and Kane Chronicles

Percy Jackson & The Olympians

Book 1: The Lightning Thief
Book 2: The Sea of Monsters
Book 3: The Titan's Curse
Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Book 5: The Last Olympian

Heroes of Olympus

Book 1: The Lost Hero
Book 2: The Son of Neptune
Book 3: The Mark of Athena
Book 4: Coming out Fall 2013 (The House of Hades)

The Kane Chronicles

Book 1: The Red Pyramid
Book 2: The Throne of Fire
Book 3: The Serpents Shadow

If you ask me who my favorite author is, I'll answer "Rick Riordan" without hesitation. That's how good his books are! Percy Jackson is my #1 favorite character of all time!!!!!!!!

J.K. Rowling --- Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Book 1: The Sorcerer's Stone
Book 2: The Chamber of Secrets
Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban
Book 4: The Goblet of Fire
Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix
Book 6: The Half-Blood Prince
Book 7: The Deathly Hallows

Obviously, the Harry Potter books are VERY famous and I can't get enough of it.

John Grisham --- Theodore Boone

Book 1: Kid Lawyer
Book 2: The Abduction
Book 3: The Accused
Book 4: The Activist

I recently read this series and I just love it. John Grisham is a great author.

A Series of Unfortunate Events --- Lemony Snicket

Book 1: The Bad Beginning
Book 2: The Reptile Room
Book 3: The Wide Window
Book 4: The Miserable Mill
Book 5: The Austere Academy
Book 6: The Ersatz Elevator
Book 7: The Vile Village
Book 8: The Hostile Hospital
Book 9: The Carnivorous Carnival
Book 10: The Slippery Slope
Book 11: The Grim Grotto
Book 12: The Penultimate Peril
Book 13: The End

I've read every single book except the last, because I couldn't find it. :(
But this is probably my third favorite series and it's very well written.

THE PENDERWICKS IS ALSO AN AMAZING SERIES!!!! AND OF COURSE THE HUNGER GAMES!

There are MANY great series and I just can't list all of them! Keep reading!

Individual Books:

Wonder - R.J. Palacio

Anne of Green Gables (classic) - Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Tale of Desperaux - Kate DiCamillo
The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau (sorry for any spelling mistakes)
The Magician's Elephant -Kate DiCamillo
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo
Dumpling Days - Grace Lin 
Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
Savvy- Ingrid Law
The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate
The Candymakers - Wendy Mass
11 Birthdays - Wendy Mass (Series, but I've only read the first. I couldn't find the second)

There are so many I can't list them!!!!

READ!!!!

-RiRi B.

New Discovery: Zentangle!

A very smart person I know told me about zentangle and I decided to check it out...it's really cool!

These are some websites so you can see what zentangle is! ( CLICK ON THE NAMES/TITLES )

ZENTANGLE!!!!

On the front page, you can scroll through some art, where it says: <<stop | play>> at the bottom. Also, on the very upper right, they have a blog and some other things about creating zentangles and how they started! Check it out!!!

Pinterest

I also found this on google and I thought it was pretty cool

Zentangle Blog

This was really cool! Especially the Easter eggs!

You can also look on google images and many other places! Hope you have fun!!!

Bye,

RiRi B

-ririb8.blospot.com

MOTTO: BLOG AWAY!!!
:P

Double Post #1!!!!

Double Post!!! Yay!

Hello, Stunning Readers! :)
You must be utterly befuddled with this complex (not really, I'm just trying to use big words) heading or title. This...is...(dramatic pauses) THE....DOUBLE POST!!!! part 1....
Why to be titled, this complex post: Double Post, you wonder???

I will be writing about TWO things!!! Haha!!!!!
 (this is a long post)
-Quotes
-You'll have to see!!! (insert evil laugh!)

1) Quotes!!! 
It's that time of the year, wait, no....time of the week, possibly?
Well, on with it!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blame is just a lazy person's way of making chaos

Doug Copland

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart.

Hellen Keller

After a storm comes a calm

Matthew Henry

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about live: it goes on.

Robert Frost

That's done!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2) .....Recent Survey

Did you know that...a recent survey has shown that over half the kids in the United States agree with us that too much screen time is bad for your health?

72% of the kids said "I would rather go out and spend the day with my friends and family than watch text while dinner" Wow, what do you think about this rapid change? Please leave it in the comments below!!!!

...

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APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!! 

HAHA!!!
:P

Did I get you? I hope I did!!!

Have a great April Fools Day, tricking your friends!!!

I hope this was one of my better posts so far in these 2 years I've been blogging!!!!!

I tried to make it long!!
Watch out for DOUBLE POST part2!!!

I'll keep blogging and you...stay tuned!!!

:P.

RiRi B

4/1/13