Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel


During the past school year, a student recommended a new fantasy series to me. The series is The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. Three books in this series have been published so far (The Alchemyst, The Magician, and The Sorceress), but Scott is working on at least three more (The Necromancer, The Warlock, and The Enchantress). I had briefly heard of this series, but hadn't personally known anyone who had read it. I'm so glad my student read it and recommended it because it has been great!!

I love that the series mixes fantasy, mythology, and history.

The fantasy - Before humans (or as they're refered to in the book, humani) ruled the earth, the earth was ruled by a powerful race of Elders and their children The Next Generation. When this race fell from power, they retreated into Shadowrealms, other dimensions connected to earth. Throughout human history, the Elders have been plotting to return to earth. Their return depends upon the magical Codex, or Book of Abraham. The book not only contains the Final Summoning (the spell that will bring the Elders from their Shadowrealms into the world again), but the spells for immortality and the philosopher's stone.

Mythology - Where to begin? The book references all sorts of myths - the lost island of Atlantis, vampires, the Greek and Roman Gods, werewolves, the Egyptian sphinx, King Arthur and Excalibur.

History - People throughout history have learned of the Elders, the Book of Abraham, and the Final Summoning. Some have sided with the Elders and have been granted immortality for their loyality. Some of these include Dr. John Dee, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Billy the Kid. Others have acheived immortality through other means and are doing everything in their power to fight againt the Dark Elders and the immortals who work for them. Some of these individuals include Nicholas Flamel, Joan of Arc, and William Shakespeare.

This is a great fantasy series filled with magic and mystery. I highly recommend it.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A Vacation in Numbers

655 - Miles Driven from SLC to Phoenix

10-3 - Pirates 10, Diamondbacks 3 (even ballpark food couldn't cheer me up from that loss)

117 - High Temperature

78 - Pool Temperature

482 - Pages read poolside

6-2 - Phillies 6, Diamondbacks 2 (STOP LOSING - I drove 655 miles to see some wins!!)

655 - Miles Driven from Phoenix to SLC

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Who Wants to Sleep Over?

So the guest bedroom is finished and ready for use. Any takers?

Taken from the doorway.

The bed and awesome faux headboard.

Another angle

Friday, July 17, 2009

I Love Owning Stuff

Warning: Depth may be more Shallow than appears.

I've never considered myself a very materialistic person, but apparently I am. I love owning stuff. It may be wrong to admit, and even more wrong to feel, but I don't care . . . I LOVE OWNING STUFF!! Today I've been graced with two furniture delivery trucks. They delivered stuff. Stuff I now own!! Oh, I love owning stuff.

My Stuff:

My new entertainment center and 50 in. TV!!

Another photo of my stuff.
Now I just need to buy more stuff to put on the shelves.

New Mattress for the Guest Bedroom.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

The Ultimate Summer Project

My ultimate summer project has been decorating my guest bedroom. For the past week I've been working on transforming a dresser and hutch to perfectly fit the guest bedroom. The dresser and hutch originally belonged to mother. It was the dresser she used when she was a teenager. My parents also used it when they were first married. When I turned 10 years old, my parents gave the bedroom set to me. As you can see it has some great history. Anyways, here's what it looked like before the transformation . . .

The dresser (minus a handle)

Another angle

The hutch

Another angle

After a lot of sanding, painting, more painting, a little distressing, and a little mod podge-ing, it now looks like this . . .

The dresser and hutch (minus the hardware).

Another angle

The dresser

The hutch

Close-up details