Guild Wars 2 Trailer

I’m so excited for Guild Wars 2 to come out. I’m not sure exactly when it will be released and neither are they to be quite honest. However, they have finally released their trailer! That means it must be getting closer… I hope.

Anyways here it is…



Do any of you guys play Guild Wars? Would you want to play Guild Wars 2? Keep in mind – this is a MMORPG that is free per month!

Flashback Friday

I welcome you to take part in Flashback Fridays. You can use my image if you’d like, make one of your own or not use one at all. All I ask is that you please link to me.

Have fun with it and let me know if you are doing it too. I think this is a great way to get to know fellow bloggers better and also take a step back in time to reminisce on some of our favorite memories.

I’ll start back up my posts for Flashback Friday starting next week. I have too much to do today to write up a proper post. Forgive me for my lack of flashbacks! :)

Update

Time for another random update on me and what is going on in my life…

I’m home from New Orleans, LA (in case you didn’t read that in a previous post). That doesn’t mean I’m not busy though!

Unpacking took me awhile actually. Apparently I am not a light traveler. I brought way too many clothes, shoes and jewelry that I never even wore. I seem to do that often though. At least I have pretty cool luggage to fit it all into.

I have to also make a few custom order necklaces for Enchanting Gemstone Creations and get ready for more events we’re planning on going to soon. Hopefully we do as well or better as we did earlier this month.



These are some of my favorite necklaces we made. I wore the rhodonite and onyx one quite a few times in New Orleans.

Speaking of… I’m writing the articles about places I visited while in New Orleans. Here are a few published on Associated Content so far…

Beauregard Keyes House in New Orleans, Louisiana

Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in New Orleans, Louisiana

Check them out and let me know what you think.

I also have been working on my writing portfolio. The link is at the top of my Blog, if you didn’t notice it before.



It is nowhere near done. I have quite a lot of articles I have no idea where they are and some I found that I need to retype. It will also constantly have new ones added to it.

Once I add more of the content to it, I’ll probably make a new header image too. I have a really good idea for it but actually making it is another story.

I’m thinking about adding the “Featured Articles” I have on there to my Blog’s sidebar too. What do you guys think? If so, where should I put it at in the right column? I was thinking under the Wishlist.

Any comments or suggestions? I’m open to hear it!

My internet has been REALLY SLOW the past few days. So slow it is going at just above dial up speed (we have DSL). How ridiculous! It is at normal (but still crappy compared to most DSL) speed right now, so hopefully it stays that way (or miraculously gets better).

True Blood: Season 2 – Episode 10 “New World in My View”

This episode of True Blood resumes with Sookie dreaming about comforting Eric over the loss of Godric. Which really, I love those kinds of scenes because I can’t wait for them to actually be together (those were my favorite parts of the book series).

Sookie wakes up from her daydream and she and Jason are in a van transporting Bill back home when they see that Bon Temp is not how it was when they left it. The town is in a chaotic mess and Mary Ann has everyone possessed with those black eyes we’re grown oh so familiar with this season.



When Bill and Sookie return to his house, they find Jessica, Hoyt and Hoyt’s mom there. His mom is possessed and was flipping out. Totally not herself. Hoyt explains that Mary Ann has taken over her house and the townspeople have all lost it.

Mary Ann is getting some awful meat carcass thing together to present to some God – right in front of Sookie’s house. Gross! The inside of the house isn’t looking so great either.

Sookie and Bill go over there to find that Mary Ann is not about to let her have her house back. Bill bites Mary Ann and gets poisoned. Sookie touches Mary Ann and some light emits. They don’t know what it is or why it happened. From reading the books though, I think it might have something to do with her fairy blood. Yes, that’s right! Fairy! Who knows if that is what it is from in the TV series though, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Sam and Andy are ultra paranoid about the townspeople and Mary Ann. Rightfully so too because they end up getting trapped at Merlotte’s in the freezer! The possessed people ended up coming after them because Mary Ann sent them to get Sam for the sacrifice.



Who is the man to save them? Jason! He seems to be on a hot streak with saving people and vampires lately. Guess those bulging muscles are good for something after all. It was quite funny though that he was able to fool the people into thinking he was “God” and did something to Sam (he really just turned into a small animal with his shape-shifting abilities).

Lafayette and Tara’s mom try to un-possess her but it wasn’t working at all. Lafayette tells Sookie and Bill to get over there to help and get the hell out of Sookie’s house because Mary Ann is some crazy powerful supernatural bitch. Luckily, Sookie is able to help Tara with the help of Bill’s glamour abilities.

Bill leaves at the end of the episode to see the Queen of Louisiana but there is blood dripping from her foot. Is it from someone she fed off of, or is she dead?



Can’t wait to see next week’s episode! Only 2 left for this season! I really wish HBO shows had longer seasons on their shows.

The Art of Seeing

The Art of Seeing
By: Cammie McGovern

The Art of Seeing is a classic story of sisters. Cammie McGovern not only tells the tale of one time period, she carefully molds the story around them in the present, as well as the past – told from both Rozzie (the older sister) and Jemma (the younger sister).

Rozzie is the one Jemma looks up to, who she has idolized her entire life. It only becomes too real for her when she gets discovered at an early age and becomes a successful movie star before she is even out of high school.

Jemma takes up photography and uses this as a way to secretly watch her, as she has always done. She uses this as a gateway to stay close to her sister and take photographs of the people around her (other celebrities, even though Jemma herself is not one). She feels unseen and unimportant to her sister, but is that how Rozzie really sees her? Jemma gets some recognition from her photography and goes to art school to pursue her dream of being a photographer.

The big dilemma in the book is when Rozzie’s eyesight begins to fade. She notices it happening before it is that big of a deal, something she learns to live with – but then it gets too bad for her to function as an actress and goes to get an operation. Jemma is there for her, even though Rozzie betrayed her in the past (male issues). Do these sisters learn to forget or does their betrayals haunt them even as the book ends? This is something too good to give away so I can’t. You’ll have to read it on your own to figure that one out.

Having a sister is always a hard thing, either if you are the younger or the older one. There is an awkward moment when you realize they are always going to be there for you, but you can’t be close enough to actually be real friends. This novel portrays this (and much more) in such excellent ways you should definitely pick this one up and read it this summer. It is a very easy read (I finished the 283 pages in only two days), but it actually does make you think so if you don’t like those kind of books, then this one isn’t for you.


*Originally published in Foxy Girl Magazine

True Blood: Season 2 – Episode 9 “I Will Rise Up”

This episode of True Blood resumes in the Dallas vampire’s house with Luke setting the bomb off that is meant to kill the vampires (and humans) inside. Bill sends Lorena away crying just before the explosion. However, he was still outside when it went off.

Eric covers Sookie just before the explosion so he gets hit with the metal and other objects that came towards them. Bill finds them and Eric tells Bill to “get the humans.” Bill catches up with them and he feeds on one of them and sends him scurrying off into the night instead of killing him.



Sookie feels like she owes Eric, so she believes the lie Eric tells saying that she has to suck out the silver that is in Eric. Eric only tells her this so she drinks his blood and thus they will be connected. Needless to say, he enjoys this. Bill is extremely pissed about this, and Sookie is too.



This new blood bond though makes Sookie dream about Eric – in a sexual way. I wouldn’t mind that at all. Really, I don’t think many would.



Honestly, who would mind that?

Sookie and Jason bond back at the hotel while the vampires are sleeping. They say they are each sorry for being mean towards one another and forgive each other because they are all they have left. It was quite cute.

Jessica and Hoyt take the next step – no not that, remember they already did that and Jessica remains a vampire virgin. Hoyt wants to introduce Jessica to his mom! Yes, the vampire-hating woman who doesn’t think anyone is good enough for her son.



The meeting with the mom doesn’t go very well. Though I am sure nobody really thought it would. She ends up making Jessica cry because she can’t have babies and Hoyt follows after her shunning his mom.

Sam is still locked up in jail (along with many other townsfolk who were possessed by Mary Ann). Sam hears Mary Ann trying to get back to him, so he turns into a fly and escapes. He ends up flying around and then shows up at Andy Bellafleur’s for safety.



Mary Ann is still running Tara and Eggs emotions and making them blackout. Lafayette and Tara’s mom are worried about Tara so they show up at Sookie’s house (where Tara, Mary Ann and Eggs are still staying). Mary Ann possesses Tara and Eggs and then Lafayette and Tara’s mom drag Tara out and throw her in the car to get her away from there. Hopefully she won’t go back, but I don’t see that happening.



Godrick is deeply saddened by the events that took place and thinks it is his entire fault. Really, it kind of is. The meeting with the vampire bureaucrat Nan Flannigan doesn’t go very well for him and Godrick is fired/resigns as sheriff of his area.



Eric tries to convince Godrick not to “meet the sun” but it doesn’t help any. As Eric’s maker, Godrick orders Eric to leave him. Sookie doesn’t want him to be alone in his last moments though, so she stays with him on the roof of the hotel. It was really very sweet.

Evony: Age I – Free Online Browser Game Review

Evony is a free online browser strategy game. I found it from clicking on an advertisement for it, not knowing what it was. I thought it would be a 2D video game, but it wasn’t. You aren’t going to be running around as one of those cool looking avatars in those ads. So, if that is what you expect don’t bother playing it.

The graphics for it are quite good though from other similar games such as Ikariam. Again, don’t expect anything fancy because it is not one of those games where you run around killing stuff.

Evony is a game where you build up a town and its fields to prosper in the land (or server) that you chose. Starting out, you focus on the town and city to build it up while still under the new player protection (you won’t be attacked for the first seven days after your account was made). Later on you can focus on the map to conquer valleys and other cities.

It also offers a series of quests that help guide you along your way. I found this to be a very helpful tool because I couldn’t find many resources on their site on what to do in the game.



The buildings players can build include: Town Hall, Cottage, Warehouse, Inn, Feasting Hall, Embassy, Marketplace, Academy, Rally Spot, Barracks, Beacon Tower, Forge, Stable, Workshop, Relief Station and Walls.

The buildings are cute but I would have liked to see them evolve into bigger and better buildings as they were upgraded – but they don’t.

Resources that need to be used in Evony include: Farms (for food), Sawmill (for lumber), Quarry (for stone) and Ironmine (for iron). Upgrading buildings and even furthering research require these items so make sure that is something you invest in as soon as you can.

If you find yourself in need of resources fast, or perhaps you have too many, Evony has a great auction system where people can put up bids for buying and selling each resource through the marketplace. I found this to be very helpful.

One of the most interesting aspects of the game to me was the Hero. You build an Inn and then set up a Feasting Hall to employ a Hero to rally your troops and fight with your people.

Overall, I think the game is fun. Plus, the added bonus of being able to play it on any browser is great and so is being able to chat with your alliance while playing.

If you want to play for free too, join Server 12 and send Sheri (my name on there) a message.

* I also wrote this review on Associated Content about Evony.

New Orleans Trip – Day 7 + 8

Thursday I met with Daena Smoller from the Paraplex Annex and International Society of Paranormal Research. She was really energetic, extremely nice and personable and probably the most experienced person I’ve met in the paranormal field yet. Look for the article about this soon too.

Right after there we went over to the Voodoo Museum. In all honesty, I didn’t really know very much about Voodoo until today. The museum and our guide Jerry was extraordinarily informative about everything concerning Voodoo and New Orleans. He even took the group to meet a Voodoo Queen – how cool is that? Watch for this article soon too.

Here are some pictures I took while at the museum and on the tour (we also visited St. Louis Cemetery #1). I saw Marie Laveau’s tomb and asked for assistance with something too. I’ll let you know if it worked.









Unfortunately we had to return slightly earlier than planned on Friday. Something came up and I had to cancel my last appointment. We drove through some awful weather on the way back too. We went through probably about 7 really bad thunderstorms. When we finally arrived back at home, shortly after that it rained for quite a few hours here too.

My trip to New Orleans was really great. I wanted to go there since I was a little kid, and I’m really glad I was able to go (even if it was 20 years later). I had such a great time on the vacation that I can’t wait to go back!

I hope that everyone reading this enjoyed my daily updates and pictures. I’ll be writing up the travel articles this week, and I’ll post links to them for you to read about the places in more detail.

Have a great weekend everyone!

New Orleans Trip – Day 6

Wednesday we went to Edgar Degas House just outside of the French Quarter. It is really worth venturing off the regular path to visit. The video they showed about Edgar Degas and the house was terrific. The tour was also given by a descendant related to Edgar Degas himself. Very cool. I’m writing an article about here as well, so check that out soon. They do not however allow photographs to be taken inside, so here is one I took outside.



A little later in the day, we went to the Elms Mansion. It is an absolutely breathtaking mansion in the Garden District of New Orleans. This is another article I am writing about, but here is a picture I took while there and I strongly urge you to go to their website to see the inside of the house – gorgeous! When I get married one day, I’d love to have my wedding here too. Beautiful!



On the way back I tried to see where the New Orleans Real World House was. It is at 2618 St. Charles St, but I wasn’t able to take a good picture while we were driving by. Oh well.



While I was navigating us back to the hotel, I realized we’d be driving right past St. Louis Cemetery #1. Being a paranormal investigator, I just had to stop and take pictures. Luckily, we were able to get a place to park next to it and I walked through there alone and took some pictures. Here are a few I took (I took almost 75 pictures in all).







That night we also went on the Spirit Tours Ghost and Vampire Tour of the French Quarter. We had a nice tour guide who was a great story teller. However, they did not take us into a bar or stop to rest anywhere. Our feet were soo tired when we got back to the hotel. I’m writing an article about them as well, so here are some pictures for now….

New Orleans Trip – Day 5

On Tuesday we ate lunch at Louisiana Pizza Kitchen. I had a personal sized cheese pizza. It was really good. I never knew New Orleans had such good Italian restaurants.

After lunch we walked through the French Market. I didn’t get anything, but I am thinking about getting a mardi gras mask. I haven’t found any yet that I really like though.



Then we went on the Steamboat Natchez for a ride on the Mississippi River. I’m writing an article about there too, so here are some pictures for now…












After the Steamboat ride, we went back to the hotel and ate some leftovers really quick and then rushed to a Ghost Tour of the French Quarter by Haunted History Tours. I’ll also be writing a review about them and another ghost tour. Theirs was really good and the tour guide we had was informative, funny and a great story teller.









Unfortunately it started pouring down rain on us while on the tour. We didn’t have an umbrella or a rain poncho so we got soaking wet. Seriously. It looked like we jumped into the Mississippi River. We finished the tour though and the guide told the last story in a little bar. The other bar guests enjoyed it too I think, and perhaps got a good laugh at us soaking wet tourists.

We were rather close to a street trolley, so we walked over there to hop on one. We waited for awhile and one finally came – in the wrong direction. We asked if we could get on because the rain was coming at us from all sides under their cover. He said sure but we’d have to pay for both ways. Ugh! We ended up just walking all the way back to the hotel.

At least HBO was finally working in the hotel so we got to watch True Blood. Don’t think I’ve forgotten to write up a review on that episode. I will do so after I return from the trip.

New Orleans Trip – Day 4

Monday was my birthday! Usually my birthdays are rather boring. This one however was not. Here is a recap on what we did…

We went to plantations! In doing so we took a bridge 9 miles long over areas that looked like this….



The first one we went to was the San Francisco Plantation. It was built in 1856 and is the only authentically restored plantation on River Road. I’m also writing an article about this plantation. For now though, here are some pictures I took while visiting there…








Then we went to the Houmas House Plantation and Café Burnside. It is noted as the Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road. It was built in 1828 and it too produced mainly sugar cane. I am doing an article on this plantation too, so for now here are some pictures I took while there…








This is a VooDoo death mask and a vampire kit. I thought that was really cool.


This was after lunch in their garden. Beautiful spot!

River Road is an interesting stretch of road along the Mississippi River. I highly suggest that if you are planning a trip here for you to check out both of those plantations and any others you may like to visit as well. You will also be surprised by just how much sugar cane you see along the way (if it is in season).



We saw miles and miles of this growing along the road and as far back as you could see in some stretches of land.

After that, we were near the Tanger Outlet mall. So, we decided to go check it out. It wasn’t as big as I thought it would be and the selection of stores also wasn’t the best. However, I did end up finding 2 new shirts and some black cropped pants.

Once we arrived back at the hotel, we went to eat at a Mexican restaurant nearby. It was really good and the tacos weren’t soggy at all, so I was happy. No birthday cake or anything, but I don’t really care about that anyways. All in all, it was a great day and I don’t feel any older – but who ever does anyways?