I'm back!

So, I haven't updated in ages. Mostly, life has been crazy and I didn't want to stress out... Plus, apparently, planning a wedding takes up all of your free time =)

Anyway, I'm back in Santiago, feeling healthy, and normal (well, as normal as I'll ever be =P), and sane.... and also very very happy =) I don't want to jinx anything, but, coming back from England, everything has just been... Well, PERFECT.

A LOT of good things have been happening this year... and even this month, so I'm choosing to focus on that instead of on the bad things (like my poor fiancé getting intoxicated and in the E.R =(). Some of the good things:

1) The AWESOME trip I won at the ESU English Writing Competition: it not only allowed me to see England and meet a bunch of nice people and see a lot of cool places, it also allowed Mauri and me to have the PERFECT early honey moon in England and Ireland =)

2) The fact that we won Gardner Hamilton's Cost-Price Wedding Photography Contest. Gardner was the photographer at my sister's wedding, and we really wanted him bc he's so amazing, but couldn't afford it (we didn't even consider him bc he was so out of budget), so when I got to be his friend number 1000 on Facebook, it made our, like, year

3) Dave Matthews Band! I've always wanted to go to a DMB concert. It was in my top 5 "concerts I have to go to before I die" list. We couldn't afford VIP tickets, so we were in about the third section. However, due to my shortness and some nice guards, I ended up not only in VIP, but right at the front row, by the stage. Eventually, M. got there too, so it was just perfect =) (Also, right at the concert, I was able to buy the DMB t-shirt that I had saved as "order at some point")

4) Despite the no-work, I've had had some work: doing translations and helping my sis with some stuff... This has helped me to save some money for the wedding and has also allowed me to buy...

5) Pretty clothes!

Actually, the list goes on, but I'll stop it here =)

So anyway, yes, I've been remiss with the updating... But I AM planning on hopefully getting back on track.

In order to reopen the blog, I'm going to start by talking about my favorite thing in the world: Books!

Here are the books I've read since I last updated:

I was hoping to review this at some point, but now I don't know if I will =P

- Clockwork- Phillip Pullman: Scary, scary, dude. Also, the notion that the evil aren't always punished and the good aren't always rewarded, is quite refreshing in YA books.

- Frankenstein- Mary Shelley: Good, but dark and frustrating

- Nineteen-eighty-four – George Orwell: Yes, a classic... Yes, brilliant... But also no, not something you should read when you've been having a not-so-good-for-the-mental-health year

- Persuasion- Jane Austen: I love Jane's subtleties. This book is emotionally stirring without the effect-ism we find in current romance.

- Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert: Changed my life! This book is the reason for my new-found chillness. I bought it at the airport with the idea that I would throw it away when getting to England, bc it was "So not my style", but it really really is something someone should read when they are overcoming a nervous breakdown :P

- The Poison Eaters- Holly Black: Holly Black is GOD. She knows how to mix wit, folklore, feelings and sex perfectly.

- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- Gregory Maguire: It's Maguire. 'Nuff said (ok, more specific: I love his aesthetic, I love how his books keep you surprised at every turn, I love how his characters navigate the gray of morality, etc etc). I told the story to my mom and she really enjoyed it and was all "Oh no!" and "I can't believe you!"

- The Forest of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan: This book is AMAZING. Other than scaring me out of my wits and frustrating me to no end with... well, I won't spoiler. It is very well written, it made me cry, it is real, it has zombies, it has action, it has emotion... It's just an overall great read.

- The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman: This book is so cute that even my parents liked it =) (I would read it to them when coming back from the gym). It really is a nice, cheerful book, and a great way to chill after reading something like "1984"

- I also reread Wicked Lovely

Here are the books I bought in England and Ireland:

Dude! Books are so cheap over there! (Or, well, they are so expensive over here =P). Anyway, a lot of them are used. I went into this used bookstore were everything in the very disorderly basement was 1 pound. I got some awesome old editions.

- Peter Pan and other Plays- James M. Barrie: I am currently reading this one

- Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens – James M. Barrie

- I, Lucifer- Glen Duncan: Has been on my TBR list forever!

- The book of fairy and folk tales of Ireland- W.B Yeats

- The Neverending Story- Michael Ende: Also from my TBR

- The Selected Poems of William Blake

- The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson

- Ash- Malinda Lo: Will probably be my next read, as it is next in the Rathers Book Club

- Linger- Maggie Stiefvater: Also on my TBR

- Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater: Also on my TBR

- David Copperfield- Charles Dickens: Very pretty old edition

- Le Morte D’Arthur – Sir Thomas Malory: Also a very pretty two-volume edition

Book Gifts:

- I wanna be Your Joey Ramone- Stephanie Kuehnert: My good friend Aine sent me this book, AUTOGRAPHED, along with some other goodies =) It's been on my TBR list for a really really long time, so, Yay! Stephanie was the first (and only =P), author to participate in Razor Thoughts**

The Book of Witches- Tim Dedopulos: My sis Claudia sent me this for my B-day, and I've been reading it slowly. It has a lot of interesting bios from everyone from St. Germain to Willow from BtVS =)

That is all for now! =)