How to Have Fun, Seth Style.

This post is dedicated to my Grandpa, as he likes to sit around and look at the weather and the obituaries, even while with his family. I will give him something to think about by telling anyone who cares to listen how I have fun.

1. I make up a pizza or two for a snack/lunch.
2. I curl up with pizza and a movie.
3. Play a game on the TV with pizza.
4. Play a game with my family.
5. Play on my Nintendo DS Lite.
6. Do a Suduko puzzle.
7. Compose haiku and other poems.
8. Read a good book in a comfortable chair/bed.
9. Play a computer game.

This is how I relax and have fun. They might not be exactly what you like, but they might be fun to you too. Please continue to read my Blog and comment on anything!

Artemis Fowl

I have recently begun reading the Artemis Fowl series again, and I have re-discovered that it is a thoroughly fascinating series. It deals with magic, fairies, and criminals. I really enjoy it. I think that you might too, so here is a picture of the series.


From left to right:
Artemis Fowl; The Arctic Incident; The Eternity Code; The Opal Deception; The Lost Colony; The Time Paradox; The Artemis Fowl Files. These books are in order.

A New Game

Just this afternoon, I discovered a new game at Target. It is called Dungeons & Dragons. I haven't played it before, but I think that I will really like it. Here is a picture.


This is the Starter Pack (left) and a Booster Pack (right)

Weeks 12-15 Reviews

Weeks 12 and 13 were good. Be sure to proof read your entries so you have no spelling and capitalization errors.

Weeks 14 & 15 you had only 1/2 the required entries. Please keep up and talk about something 3 times a week. They don't have to be long entries, but I would like to have honest thoughts in them.

Please also reply to all comments that you get, even ones from me.

Also - use the tags, so that you can group like posts together and if someone wants to find a subject you talked about, it is indexed to be easily found.

You're doing great Seth, keep it up!

A Cool Picture

I was walking around today ans I found this cool scene, so I ran back inside and took a picture of it. Since I thought that it might be nice to put in my blog, I will.


My Christmas Tree

What Thanksgiving Means to Me

Thanksgiving means a lot to me. It always brings around a sense of companionship and love. I get stuffed with wonderful food with my family, then I play with them. Thanksgiving means food, love, and family to me. That is what Thanksgiving means to me. To slightly elaborate on this point, I have made a short Thanksgiving video.

My Book Collection

I have a giant book collection. It takes more than two bookshelves, and I am proud of it. I have never counted the books in my library, but I estimate that I have over 100 books in my library. My library is made up of fiction for the most part. I like science fiction, so I have tons of those. I have a few non-fiction books, but I don't read those books a lot. I mostly read the fiction books. I have read almost all of the books in my library, with the exception of a few new books. It is sort of hard to explain, so I am just going to show you.



The big bookshelf.



Books on my desk.



These books are on a bookshelf.



These are on another bookshelf.



A tall bookshelf of books.

The Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Field Trip

On Tuesday the 16th, my mom and I went on a field trip with the rest of our homeschool group. We went to the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge a few miles out of Des Moines. We watched a short movie about the prairie. After the movie, we learned about being a good steward by picking seeds of the Ironweed plant and putting them in a bin to help the prairie. When we finished that activity, the group went to the Buffalo Exhibit to learn about the Bison. They had bones that we were allowed to touch, and they even had a giant, flat piece of Buffalo poop that had hardened. On the floor, they had Buffalo skins down, so we could feel what a Buffalo felt like. When we finished the last learning game, we had lunch. After lunch, the group sort of split up. Some people explored the rest of the exhibits, others took a nature walk, and the rest went out on the auto trail or went home. I had a lot of fun playing with Dawson, a 3 year old that I really like. He was small, so I picked him up so that he could see all the cool things. I also carried him around a little bit when he got tired. After lunch though, Dawson and his family left. We stayed, and we went on a nature walk with Mikayla and her mom. Mikayla and I had a lot of fun walking through the wild prairie. We tried to sneak up on our parents, but we made too much noise. Soon after our failed seak attack, we found three Buffalo in the distance. My mom used her video camera to zoom in close enough so that we could see. She had to leave too though, and we were eventually left alone. My mom took us along the auto tour route to look for more Buffalo and Elk. We saw some Mule Deer, scrapes, and giant turds, but we didn't see any more Buffalo or Elk. All in all, it was a good field trip.



We collect seeds and I hold my sword aloft.



Dawson and I listen to a speech about Buffalo.



Me sneaking around.

My Favorite Sandwich/Wrap Tutorial

My favorite wrap is a delicious Barbecue Cream Cheese wrap with ham and crisp, fresh, juicy lettuce. It is very easy to make, and I love to make it. I will show you how to make this delicious wrap.

A Typical School Day

In this post, I will tell you what I do on a typical school day. It isn't exciting, but it is informational. So here I go.

Math

The first thing I do in my school day is my math. Depending on the length of the lesson, I do about 2-5 pages a day. I use an Abecka book, so, as you might not know, I am home-schooled. My mom doesn't want me writing in the book, so I answer the questions in a 5-subject notebook. I also have a whiteboard and a calculator to help with the harder problems.



My Math Stuff

SOS

After my math, I start up my computer so that I can do my SOS. SOS stands for Switched On Schoolhouse. I have my History and Geography, Language Arts, and Bible classes on SOS. the cool thing about SOS is that it is all on the computer, so I don't have any papers lying around in folders and stuff.

Break

When I am done with my SOS, I normally take a small break of a half-hour to an hour. I use this time to play games and unwind. I normally play RuneScape, but sometimes I play on A123.com, Nanovor Online, and Bakugan Dimensions.

Science

After my break, I do my final subject, science. I use a Matter and Motion book, which centers around a Christian perspective of science. I like this subject, because I get to learn about science and many other exciting facts. I have a notebook to answer the questions with.



My Science Stuff

My Favorite Apple

My favorite apple is the Gala apple. It isn't the biggest apple, nor the tartest, or even the firmest, but it is a good apple. It is small, so you can pack it into your lunch or snack area easily. It is sweet, which I like, but not overly sweet, which I don't like. It isn't hard, but it isn't mushy either. It is soft, perfect for an easy snack. The color is a nice blend of red and yellow, not completely green, yet not so red that it looks black. There are other apples that are good apples, but I like the Gala apple the most.



A Gala Apple

Sushi

This weekend, I was watching a How It's Made episode with my family, and they showed how sushi was made. This intrigued my interest, so I started researching sushi. It turns out that there are many types of sushi, and that almost all of them have rice. Sushi is a dangerous dish, mostly because it is made out of raw fish, with seaweed, rice, and the few vegetables or spices put into the sushi. I can't tell you everything in this entry though, because it would make this entry huge. Instead, I am going to direct you to a website that is sure to answer all of your questions.

http://eugeneciurana.com/musings/sushi-eating-HOWTO.html#label_2

You might need to scroll up a little bit to get to the top. I have found this website to have a lot of information about sushi and sushi etiquette.

Enjoy!



The many kinds of sushi, or Zushi

Week 11 Review

Good job this week. I would have liked more detailed information on the Bird post, but otherwise it was a good week.

Twix

One of my favorite Candies are Twix. I like them because they are small, light, and pleasant to the taste. They have creamy caramel over a snappy stick of deliciousness. Covering THAT is an awesome, smooth chocolate shell.

My Favorite Bird: Bird Ninja

My favorite bird is probably the Black Swift. It is a large swift. The largest in North America, in fact. I like to call it "Bird Ninja". It lives up to the name, too. They can climb even the sheerest cliffs, where they live. It can fly out of sight thousands of feet into the air, and prefers to remain secret. They swoop down with uncanny accuracy to eat aerial insects like mosquitoes. They even live like a ninja, simple in a moss and mud cup, yet hard to find on a rocky ledge. I have found out that while this bird winters in the tropics, no human has been able to find out exactly where they winter. Scientists suspect that The Black Swift May actually winter in British Columbia, where flocks of thousands have been seen. Even though I have listed a lot here, the Black Swift is actually the least known swift in North America. I love this bird.



This is a Black Swift
Photo courtesy of Whatbird.com

Nature

Since I have been doing mostly written posts, I thought that it might be nice to do a small video instead. Hope you enjoy.




The music for this clip is To Go Beyond by Enya

Week 10 Review

Not as good as previous weeks. No photos :( and only 2 entries.

A Cooking Blog That I Found

Now, being a guy that likes to cook, I have found the perfect Blog to get cooking recipes. It is called Full Bellies, Happy Kids. They have almost a thousand posts, and each one has a recipe on it. I have recently seen one recipe that I wish to try. It is a cinnamon bread recipe that I believe is going to be heavenly! If you want to try out some new recipes, just go to this address.

http://fullbellies.blogspot.com

Happy Halloween!

My Weekend

This entry is going to be about my weekend, the days of November 23rd and November 24th.

This Saturday, we had a hectic day. The first thing we did that day was watch TV. My brother and I are allowed to wake up at 7:00 on Saturdays and watch TV. We watched for about an hour. Then I played a little Wii. Then Mom woke up and kicked us off. A little while later, Mom and Dad took us to West Des Moines and then Ankeny. They took us to Best Buy to look for something. They wouldn't tell is what, so Joel and I just went to the game aisle and fooled around until Mom came and got us. They apparently didn't find what they were looking for, so they took us to ankeny and looked there. They found what they wanted there and they took us home. When we got home, I played RuneScape until Mom threw me off. Then I took my shower, read for an hour, then slept.

Sunday was standard. I ate, slept, read, worked, and pooped. I also played a little RuneScape.

Week 9 Review

Good Job. :)

Tutorial Part Three: How to Play

This is the final part of the tutorial. To make it easier to understand, I have put this part of the tutorial into a video.

Tutorial Part Two: Getting Set Up

In this second Tutorial, I will teach you how to get a good deck and what to look for in a good deck, so that you can build your own decks.

Selecting a Deck

At your local Wal*Mart, you should be able to find the latest and greatest decks and packs of cards. But before buying anything, you should decide what type of card player you are. Do you like to hold down the fort with defensive monsters and retaliate with spells and traps? Maybe you don't care about defense and want to go all out and blast your opponent into the sky? How about a well balanced deck, ready for all occasions? Take your time deciding. You can't reuse money once you have already used it to buy something. Choose wisely, because your first deck is special.

What to Look for in a Deck

There are several things that you should look for in a deck. There should be an even amount of traps, spells, and monsters, using the formula of 1 part spell, 1 part trap, and 2 parts monsters. with the monsters, make sure you have more weak monsters than strong ones. You need weak monsters so that you can sacrifice them to bring in the big boys. If you have a ton of strong monsters but no weak ones to sacrifice, you won't be able to summon those big monsters. keep your monsters true to your character. That way, you will be able to maneuver with your deck comfortably, and probably win more games than if you were playing with a deck that makes you feel uncomfortable.

If you listen to this advice, you will be fighting like a pro in no time.

Week 8 Review

Good job. Only 2 photos... but otherwise ok.

Tutorial Part One: The Cards

For the rest of this week, I will be using this blog to teach you in three steps what Yu-Gi-Oh is and how to play it. I will be covering the different cards, how to get set up with the perfect deck, and how to play a game. These lessons will be spaced out throughout the week with one school day in between each posting. This will give you a chance to retain the knowledge that I will write. So without further ado, your first lesson starts now.

THE CARDS

There are three main types of cards in Yu-Gi-Oh. Spell cards, Trap cards, and Monster cards. I will split this entry into three seperate sections to explain about each one.

Spells

Spell cards are rapid fire spells. They can be played almost as soon as you want to, with exceptions. Spell cards only last one turn though, unless the card says otherwise. Unlike trap cards, which we will reach later, spell cards can be played from your hand. There are many types of spells. This is what a spell looks like.

Spells should take up about a fourth of your deck.

Traps

Traps are slower, but more powerful than spells. You have to wait one turn after you play them on the field to be able to activate them. Traps aren't one turn long, but they aren't permanent either. Some traps last only one turn, and some keep going until they are destroyed. This is what a trap looks like.

Trap cards should make up one fourth of your deck.

Monsters

Monster cards are the game winning cards. You can win a game without using any monsters, but it would be extremely difficult. Monsters can only be played one per turn, but they stay out longer than traps our spells, if they are strong enough. monsters are the cards that attack your opponent, destroying their life points and defending you against your opponent's monsters. Here is what a monster looks like.

Monster cards should be half of your deck.

Gregor the Overlander Series

I am currently reading a series called Gregor the Overlander. I think it is really cool. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it centers around an under ground world that was inhabited in the 1600's. Due to space and an abundant food supply, the animals down there have grown to a large size. The humans down there have many prophecies, and Gregor is centered in almost all off them. I really like the series, and I think that you would like it too. Here is a picture of the series.



The series in story order.

What I am going to do this week.

This week, How To Train Your Dragon is coming out. My mom has promised that she will take me Friday to go and get the movie. I can hardly wait! We will probably get to eat out, too. This week is going to be AWESOME! I have it all planned out. As soon as we get home, I am going to watch the movie with popcorn and a nice, warm blanket. It is going to be the best thing ever!

The Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit at SCI

This past Saturday, my family and I went to the new Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa ( www.sciowa.org ). I thought that it was okay. we got to see all of his designs, including his formula for the Golden Rule. I really liked the war area, because I actually knew what everything was and what it was for. Leonardo Da Vinci made a lot of cool things, like the tank and the war chariot. Both of those inventions didn't work however, because one had technical difficulties, and the other couldn't calm the horse. We also saw the Mona Lisa exhibit, and we saw the original colors of Da Vinci's The Last Supper painting. At the end, I really enjoyed it.

Week 7 Review

Great Job. Love the descriptive paragraph you used for your geode. :)

Star Trek: Tactical Assault

Recently, I have acquired a new game. It is called Star Trek: Tactical Assault. I think that it is a really fun game. you can either play as Klingons or the Federation in story mode. In skirmish mode, you can be any type of ship, including Romulans, Gorn, and Orion Raiders, along with the Federation and Klingons. You can control you ship in actual space fights. Your ships are outfitted with phasers and torpedoes. I think that it is a great game. Here is a picture.


The Game

My Rock Collection

Over the years, I have been collecting rocks. I have collected Agate, Sapphire, Rose Quartz, Crystal Spires, and many other stones. My collection is meager compared to true geologists, but I like my collection. The pride of my collection is a giant Geode. It is about the size of my head. It is vibrant blue and white, in cascading crystalline arches, all coalescing into a a magnificent spot in the very center of the stone. The center is not flat, like the rest of the rock, but broken in. The crytals protrude in the gap in magnificent spires. The spires are the color of pure ice. it is the pride and joy of my collection. Here is a picture of my collection.



This is my collection. The big one on the back is the Geode.

Robotech

I have an old book series that my father passed on to me. It's called Robotech. Most kids probably wouldn't know about it, but parents and grandparents that were interested in science fiction\fantasy might. Robotech is a stunning story of love, betrayal, fighting, and humor. I think that if you like those things, you might like this series. The time changes are a bit difficult to cope with, as there are three jumps in the books where a new generation takes on the main roles. Here is a picture of the series.



The Series.

Week 6 Review

Pretty good. :) Let's continue even in break .. okay?

Spices

Spices. They are the unsung heroes of flavor. They make food enjoyable. A dash of spice here, a different spice there, and you have a great dish. Spices are what make great dishes. Great chefs must have an extensive knowledge of which spice works well on which, and how much to put on specific dishes. Spices are awesome. Here is my family's collection of spices.



The spices on our bar.



The spices in our drawer.

Bakugan Dimensions

Online, there is this game called Bakugan Dimensions. It is where you get to run around and fight other people online with bakugan. Bakugan are ball like creatures that turn into giant beings when a battle field is opened. You get to create your own personal avatar and battle your friends. You can even use special bakugan toys in the real world to unlock bakugan in Bakugan Dimensions by inputting a code. You can chat and you can buy too. and you don't have to pay to get coins to buy stuff! All you have to do is fight people. Then you can buy new gear and attacks. you can even increase the power of your bakugan by battling. I love it, I think you might like it. Here is the adress.

www.bakugandimensions.com

Tiramisu

On Saturday the 4th, my family and I went to Olive Garden in Des Moines. It was a relatively quiet day, as Olive Garden wasn't really busy. We got to our seats after just a five minute wait. We took very little time to come to a decision about what we were going to eat. We all had water and the Never Ending Pasta Bowl. We had salad and breadsticks while we waited. then we got our food and we ate. I had one bowl and then decided to have dessert. There was one dessert that really caught my eye. It was Tiramisu. I had never had Tiramisu, so I decided to try it. Tiramisu was a creamy custard over espresso soaked ladyfingers, topped with cocoa and chilled. The first bite was delicious. The rich, creamy custard went so well with the strong espresso flavor in the soft ladyfingers pastries. It was like a little piece of fantasy. I wanted to eat more, but the Tiramisu was very rich. I could only manage 3/4 of the delectable dessert. My mom and brother finished it. My dad was too busy eating his weight in pasta, salad, and bread sticks. My mom didn't like it because she doesn't like coffee, but I loved it and my brother liked it. I was inspired. Tiramisu became my new favorite dessert. Here is a picture of Tiramisu.



Tiramisu at Olive Garden in west Des Moines, Iowa.
http://www.olivegarden.com/menus/menu/?server_path=/menus/dessert/

You may need to input the city and state to find a menu.

Week 5 Review

Pretty Good. I particularly liked the Day Care post. Please remember to review for spelling/punctuation/grammar/capitalization. :)

Day Care

On Thursday my mom went to Keepers. Keepers is a womens group where moms get together and talk and hangout. I went along because my first paid job was taking care of toddlers. I got payed $ 20.00 to take care of the toddlers. At first I didn't know why they paid so much for watching kids. At the end of Keepers, I knew why. I had to run, jump, take boys to the bathroom, and play house as a dog. It was very hard work. One kid had me running around to catch imaginary birds. The only break we had from the noise and running was snack time. At snack time, the kids suddenly quieted down and went to take a seat and eat. The other caretakers and I dished up small cups of Cheddar Whales and water. Then snack time was over, and we had to run and take care of them for another half-hour. Afterward, my mom took a close friend and me to Arbys. I ate twice as much as both of them, twice as fast. This whole experience has taught me one thing. Child Care is exhausting!!!

Week 4 Review

Good Content. Watch your spelling and grammer.

Reviewed through August 27th.

Nerf Guns

We all know Nerf guns, right? The gun with Styrofoam darts that bend and break. They are cool anyway, though. I have two Nerf guns myself. The Longstrike and the Recon. I love my guns. They are really cool. Here is a picture of my guns.



My guns, the Longstrike CS-6 and the Recon CS-6.

AR Awards

When I was in Elementary school at Irving Elementary, they had this program called Accelerated Reader (AR). The program was designed so that people would read more. It worked as thus. A student would read a book. Then that student would take an AR test over that book. Each book was worth a certain number of points. Depending on how many questions you got right, you would get a certain amount of points. The points varied from book to book. Harder books, like Harry Potter, were worth more points. Easy books, like Blue's Clues, were worth fewer points. Non-fiction books were worth more points than fiction books. While the points still differed, an easy non-fiction book was worth more points than an easy fiction book. Depending on how many points you got, you would be given awards. Awards included trophies, plaques, and medals. I was really good at Accelerated Reader, so I have a treasure trove of awards. Here is a picture of my awards.




My Awards

Nanovor Online Game

www.nanovor.com

Nanovor is an online game where you fight with little nanoscopic creatures called Nanovor. The Nanovor live in computer chips. I love to play. You can raise you swarm, evolve your Nanovor to be even more powerful, and you can play mini-games. You can also chat with friends, battle other players, and so much more. It is a finicky game though. it is slow if you have anything older than XP. But I love it anyway. Here are two Nanovor that you will probably get as starters.



Electropod, a well-rounded Nanovor



Tank Walker, a heavily shielded hard hitter

Schefflera Brassaia Actinophylla : The Umbrella Tree

The Umbrella Tree. It's properly called Schefflera Brassaia Actinophylla. I chose this plant for my blog post because I think it is a cool plant. here are some facts about the Umbrella Tree.

They can grow up to 50 feet in their native homes of Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia.
They can grow 8-10 feet tall in a house.
The plant requires bright, indirect light to thrive.
When old, the tree will begin resembling a tree instead of a bush.
It requires 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the day and about 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

Here is a picture of the Schefflera Brassaia Actinophylla.



The Schefflera Brassaia Actinophylla

Garden Veggies

Garden vegetables are probably the best thing on the earth. You can grow your own veggies from just a few seeds. When those seeds grow into veggie bearing plants, you can get an enormous harvest that you would have had to buy for much more money than you payed for the seeds. And once you have some seeds, and you have been growing things for a few years or so, you can harvest the seeds from your plants. Now you don't have to pay very much at all to grow vegetables. As an added bonus, garden veggies taste better. So even though you have to till, plant, weed, and harvest, garden veggies are awesome to eat. Here are some different types of veggies that you can get from your garden in Iowa.



This is a squash. It isn't a cucumber, even though it looks like it.



Cucumbers and banana peppers are just some of the food you can get.



Summer squash always produces a huge harvest.



Tomatoes aren't hard to raise. It's getting to them before they fall, rot, or animals get them.

Aloe Vera: A Miracle Helper

Aloe Vera. Most of you have probably heard about it or seen it's name on a care product. But do you know what Aloe Vera does? When crushed or cut, this plant releases a clearish slime. This slime can calm irritated skin and heal burns. It is also a beautiful plant. Here is a picture so you can raise one for yourself, in case of any unforeseen emergencies.



Aloe Vera

A Nutritious Delicious

During my travels through the world of food, I have found out that people love food when it is nutritious as well as delicious. So here is a nutritious delicious.

3rd Review

Good Job Seth. We'll both have to work on improving the videos, but overall I think you've done wonderfully :)

Video

I thought about doing a video, so I did.

The Zoo

On Saturday, my family and I went to the Blank Park Zoo. We went and we spent some time there for about an hour. We went to the bird show. Here are some pics of the things we saw.



A Emperor Scorpion in wait. :)



A relative of the Crocodile, the Caiman.



A magnificent Tortoise gathering.



One big boy!



A small Red Eared Turtle.



A black Axolotl, a rare animal.

2nd Review

Good Job :)

My Favorite Hot Drink

My favorite hot drink is coffee. I like coffee because I feel drawn to it and there are so many different flavors.



My own coffee that I bought and brew.

My Favorite Animal

My favorite animal is the Galapagos tortoise. I like the animal because I feel drawn to it. They are very smart and they think a lot.


I found this picture online.

The Balloon Classic

I went to the Balloon Classic on Saturday and I snapped a few photos of the balloons. Here they are.



Cherry Bombs Away!



Out of the Fire and into the . . . Beaver?



Who is this Guy?