Senior Year!

Hi everyone! Since I've been rather MIA lately I just wanted to tell you a little bit about what's been going on with me.

1. I recently started my senior year and while it is amazing, it has been taking up every minute of my free time!

2. Not only am I spending a lot of my time doing homework (I'm taking several AP classes), I am also busy with extracurriculars and college applications. I have decided on my top three schools and all of the applications are due in the coming months which is both scary and insanely exciting!

3. Now that I have my license I've been spending a lot more time with my friends and going different places. I never realized how amazing this freedom would be and I am loving it.

4. My 18th birthday is Thursday!

5. I have a ton of reading for my AP Literature class which, unfortunately, leaves little time for my own reading.

6. My best friend and I just started watching The Vampire Diaries and are almost done season 1. I'm obsessed!

7. I've also applied for a job to several different places so if I start working that will cut even further into my small amount of free time!

8. I'm going to start taking classes at my local community college to learn ASL!

9. Studying for the SATs!

10. Since I couldn't think of anything for number 10, I thought I'd share the books I have been reading for fun when I have time: the Jessica Darling series. They are great!

How is everyone else doing? I am hoping to get some more posts up soon.

And I'm Back!

I've spent the last few weeks working at Busch Gardens Tampa shadowing zookeepers. I have had such an incredible experience and although it was hard work, I wish I could stay there the rest of the summer.

Anyway, now that I'm back home, I'm scheduling some more posts and will hopefully get back on track soon. Hope the rest of you are having good summers, as well!

Busch Gardens Camp!

(None of these people are me!)

By the time you read this, I will be on a plane to Florida for a zookeeping intensive camp at Busch Gardens Tampa! I went to camp for one week last summer for Zookeeping 101, but this year I am staying two weeks for Zookeeping 201 and Zoo Careers! I am so excited! 

Anyway, I will have access to my e-mail for a short amount of time several evenings and have a bunch of posts scheduled so hopefully everything will stay updated! 

I'll miss you all and will be back soon!

What's Been Going on With Me

As you might have noticed I've been a bit MIA lately. Luckily, this weekend I'm going to spend getting caught up on posts and reading. Since I wanted to share with you what's been going on with me lately, I figured what better time than today! This post is more personal than usual so feel free to skip this if you're not interested!

SCHOOL/EXTRACURRICULAR RELATED 
 
It's my junior year and as many of you know that is one crazy time.

1. I'm taking multiple AP classes and the work has been taking up a lot of my time. I have tons of readings every night and essays a couple of times a week.
2. As the year is winding down, the pace of everything is just picking up speed and my teachers are just piling on the work.
3. Junior year is the most important year of high school and I've been doing a lot to prepare for college.
     - I registered for the SATs
     - I'm taking the HSPAs next week.
     - I just found out I got into National Honor Society!
     - I've been talking to some of my teachers about writing recommendation letters.
4. Prom season is coming up!

All of this school-related stuff is taking up a lot of my time, but I'm hoping with HSPAs this week I won't have much homework and will be able to get caught up!

I also tutor elementary school kids two nights a week and work at my uncle's accounting office on Saturdays. Later this month I am also going to start volunteering every week at our town's wildlife rehab center.

MITTENS 

Two weeks ago my cat passed away and that has been very hard. I've had her since I was in second grade and Mittens was such a big part of my life. She was 10 years old and had a tumor that was too aggressive to stop. I miss her so much </3
 

OTHER NEWS 

In other, more positive news, here are some other updates about me!

1. I just bought my midnight tickets to The Hunger Games! I can't wait!

2. I've been working out plans for this summer. Hopefully I'll be going to camp at Busch Gardens again.

3. My family and I are almost finished the second series of Downton Abbey--- eeee it is so good!

Anyway, that's my update for this nice Saturday afternoon. I hope to be back on track after the craziness of February.

Where Have I Been?

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for disappearing on you! I have some posts written up, but haven't had much time lately for blogging and reading because I'm hosting a German exchange student! She's been here for two weeks already and will, sadly, be leaving on Tuesday. Until then I will be busy spending time with the group and going on short trips to make her stay as fun as possible!

See you guys soon!

Like Mandarin Cover Revealed!

Kirsten Hubbard revealed her GORGEOUS cover earlier today:

LIKE MANDARIN by Kristen Hubbard

"It's hard to find beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming. Fourteen-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it's not her mother's pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances and pickup trucks adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild girl Mandarin Ramey: seventeen, shameless and utterly carefree.

Grace would give ANYTHING to be like Mandarin.

When the two misfits are united for a project, they embark on an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and constantly searching for someplace magic. Grace even plays along when Mandarin suggests they make a pact to run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds that plague their badlands town.

But all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, even the best friendships can't withstand betrayal." Summary Courtesy of Good Reads

I am SO excited to read this, it comes out in March 2011 though!! ):

Will be worth the wait! In the meantime visit Kirsten's awesome blog -->

http://www.kirstenhubbard.com/

Calling All YA Authors & Their Pets!

I'm planning a new contest that I'm really excited about! It involves two of my favorite things- YA Authors & their pets!

Here's how the contest is going to work:
I'm going to post the names of a variety of authors and then pictures of their pets, and it's up to you to guess which pet belongs to which author. Those of you that get the most matches correct will get to take a dive into the prize bucket!

I'm looking for YA authors who are willing to send me a picture of their pet (whether it be dog, cat, or snake) to post on my blog for the contest. Send me an email (kelseythebookscout at gmail dot com) with the picture and your pets name!

Also, if any author would be willing to donate a book or swag to the prize bucket let me know!

Richelle Mead Chat Tonight at 8:00!

Tonight at 8:00 PM EST Penguin is having a chat with NYT Bestselling author Richelle Mead! I haven't read the Vampire Academy series yet, but I really want to, it sounds amazing :)

Click here to visit the site where the chat takes place! You can even sign up to get a reminder an hour or 15 minutes before the chat starts!