The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

LATE POST :)

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Hello, my dears. It's 9 in the morning while I'm typing this. I just finished reading the sixth book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. Gonna tell you this now: I actually didn't hate the series! When I started reading the first book, I had this feeling that I'd hate it. But I didn't, and that's why I was able to finish reading all six books in the series! For me, it's not as exciting as the Hunger Games trilogy but I thought it was still pretty engaging over-all. Did I love it? Now, that's a question I still don't know the answer to. I still have a lot of Q's in my head... you know, about the ending and some parts of the story. I know I have to write about this or else I won't be able to sleep. Haha.

So here goes.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, Google it. Haha just kidding. The story goes something like this...

The next part contains some spoilers.

-Twins Sophie and Josh witness and somehow get involved in a magical duel between a stranger and Nick Fleming, the owner of the bookshop where Josh is working. The stranger, John Dee, is after The Codex, an ancient magic book. Dee steals the Codex, kidnaps Nick's wife, Perry, and leaves without knowing that Josh has managed to rip the last two pages from the book. Nicholas then reveals to the twins that he is really Nicholas Flamel, a French alchemist who, along with his wife, uses information from the Codex to regularly brew an immortality potion to keep himself alive for centuries. Without the Codex, they won't be able to brew the potion, and they will become mortal again and eventually die. Nicholas also tells the twins that he and Perry believe that Sophie and Josh are the 'twins of legend' - 'The two that are one and the one that is all. One to save the world and one to destroy it.' Nicholas seeks the help of an old friend and an Elder to have the twins' magical powers awakened, just as Dee discovers that the last two pages of the Codex, and unfortunately the ones that  he need, are missing. And this is where the chase begins.-

There were a lot of characters in the whole series that at times I found myself confused, but as the series progressed, I became more familiar with the characters and understood their roles' importance. There were many familiar names (though I don't really know much about them because I am not well-versed in history and mythology).

The story's told from a third person's point of view. A lot of times I found myself really engaged after reading a chapter. As engaging and exciting as many of the chapters were, I still found myself bored by a quite a few of them, especially the flashbacks. Each book has more than 60 chapters. A lot, right? But they're short chapters, don't worry :P

I will tell you this: A lot of things happened from the first to the last book that I couldn't believe it when I realized that only 1-2 weeks had actually passed in the book's setting from the first to the last book. That's how continuous and fast-paced the story was.

Now here are my questions.

1. Why were Isis and Osiris, supposedly Earthlords, so easy to defeat? I thought there was going to be a really cool magic battle between them and the twins on the top of the Pyramid of the Sun. 

2. What happened to the Codex? The Mage wrote it, right? But when Dee and all the other characters ended up in the past at Danu Talis, Abraham took the book from him. Why did he need to take it? I mean, they're in the past so technically, the Codex still wasn't stolen yet. Then Abraham then handed it to his wife who then gave it to Josh who eventually became Marethyu. Marethyu gave it to the Flamels, then Dee stole it from the Flamels, and the cycle goes on. Am I missing something? 

3. Why did Sophie not get much of an ending?

4. What happened to the Flamels? At first I thought they died in the end because of what Marethyu said about taking them to Paris blah blah blah, but then he said (in his letter to Sophie) that he and the Flamels were there at Aoife and Niten's wedding. I'm so confused.

Yeah. Can't sleep. Still thinking of the ending and looking back at some parts. I might have overlooked some things? 

Over-all, it's an engaging series, and I enjoyed most of it. I read the whole series through my Kindle app. I saw the actual books in the bookstore. I like the magical-looking book covers :)

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Giveaway Alert! Dream Makeup - Sigma Essential Brush Kit Giveaway

Helloooo! I joined Dream Makeup's Sigma giveaway! They're giving away a Sigma Essential Brush Kit (of winner's choice)! AWESOME.

I chose the Blue Bunny kit. WANT. WANT. WANT! Please, please, please, be mine!!!

*fingers crossed*

Link to the giveaway: http://dreammakeup-blog.blogspot.com/2012/12/sigma-beauty-essential-brush-kit.html

Giveaway Alert! Couch Wasabi Saladbox Giveaway

Hullo! I blogged about SaladBox already. Read my post about it on my beauty blog: http://www.codenameaya.com/2012/09/saladboxlaunch.html. The first box's out already. I'm not subscribed to SaladBox yet, though. Came across Couch Wasabi's Saladbox giveaway earlier. Perfect timing! I really want to win this so I can finally be able to experience box subscription services. And I wanna see if The SaladBox subscription is really worth it (at least, based on the first few boxes). Dumarami na ang mga beauty boxes here in the Philippines lately, ah. 

If you want to join too, here's the link to CW's giveaway: http://couchwasabi.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/cw-belated-birthday-saladbox-starter-plan-free-subscription/. CW is giving away a SaladBox Starter Plan subscription (for Nov-Dec boxes) :)

*crossing fingers*

Are you going to the 2012 BDJ Fair? I am!

I’m super excited for the 2012 BDJ Fair at the SM MOA Music Hall on October 14! :)  Just a couple more days and I’ll see you all the Fair!

The 2012 BDJ Fair is open to everyone! :)  Drop by and visit the different partner booths, and get the newest editions of the Belle de Jour Power Planner, Navi: Your Life Navigator and the FMN Notebooks at 20% off!  Their newest planner, everything is possible, will also be released at 20% off!

Enjoy the various fun activities from our various brand partners!! No Entrance Fee!! 

For a small donation of Php 100, get a chance to enjoy special booths :)

I’ll be bringing:

• my camera because I will be meeting my blogger friends there, and because I want to remember all the FUN.
• (wearing) a laid-back and comfy outfit and my new flats because I know I'm gonna be walking a lot there.
• cash, of course, for a VIP pass (yey!) and any other stuff I might see there. Planners and notebooks are discounted!

I’m excited to see Donna Cuna-Pita, Tricia Gosingtian, PJ Lanot, Patty Laurel, Divine Lee, Jasmine Mendiola, Erica Paredes, Georgina Wilson and Fitz Villafuerte in the 2012 BDJ Fair: Limitless!

For more details check out their Facebook Page: facebook.com/BelledeJourPlanner. Visit their website at www.belledejourpowerplanner.com 

See you all there at the BDJ Fair!

Barbie Mariposa-Inspired Look Trial 1

Hey guys! I watched Barbie Mariposa (again) yesterday and found Mariposa's look really pretty. So I tried to recreate it. 

Here's what I ended up with. It's not exactly the same as Mariposa's. I was just actually testing out the eyeshadow colors I'd be using and the technique. 

Note: Photos are enhanced (using Picasa). Obvious naman eh, di ba? :) I originally planned on just posting this on Instagram since this was just a trial look. Figured I'd post it here on my personal blog, too :)

I need to bring the purple eyeshadow into the inner crease and line my upper lash line just a bit more thickly. I barely lined it this time. I think I should also soften the outer corner.

I'll post the complete look on my beauty blog soon :)

Fish-tail!

Did this many months ago, just forgot to post. My hair's long enough for braids like this now. Yey! I tried doing a fish-tail braid for a change. I usually just go for the regular braid.

I think braids look really nice messy and textured, and on hair with highlights.

Unfortunately, my dark brown hair color didn't show up at all in the picture. Well, I wouldn't really expect it to show up. It's been a year since I colored my hair! HAHAHA. It's time to color it againnnnnnnnnnnn :)

If my hair were a few inches longer, the fishtail braid would have looked more like a fishtail. It's supposed to thin out as you go down to the tips of your hair. Anyway, might try this again now that my hair is 5 months longer (?) :)

To My Baby Misha

Four months ago, on March 6, one of our dogs passed away. Her name's Misha. She was just about to celebrate her 9th birthday on March 28 but too bad she never got to. Misha was a very good dog. She was family. I still miss her.

She was like a little sister to me.

She was a very sweet baby.

I will never forget her. 

Never forget how she liked sleeping on my bed, on the sofa, on her plastic chair, on the planggana, on newspaper, on rags, on slippers. 

How she followed us around the house, even to the bathroom. 

How she sang every time the ice cream man passed by. 

How she liked licking Moshi's ears clean. 

How she liked eating the plants in the garden, especially the lemon grass. 

How she liked eating the wallpaper thingy on our wall whenever she's jealous and making papansin. 

How she liked to sit on our laps. 

How she liked catching her food when we throw it in her direction.

How she loved sunbathing.

Her tail. 

Her big tummy. 

Her triangle face. Her petal ears. 

Her pink nose. 

Her soft paws. 

Her longganisa pose.

 Her pa-cuteness. 

Her Dobby face. 

I can go on and on, you know. 

I miss her everyday. 

Misha, we all miss you. Moshi misses you so much.

I love you, Mimi.  

Thoughts on stuff

Hello, my friends! How are you? I hope you're having a nice weekend :)

Anyway, I am back! My schedule is back to 'normal' again, and by normal I mean I'm officially unemployed again. Haha. I am back to being a student again, though. I have to say, I wasn't really excited to enroll in graduate school. I had mixed feelings about it. The thought of being a student again excited me a bit, just a bit, but the thought of graduate classes and more difficult courses kinda cancelled out my excitement. I cracked the other day, felt so sad and alone and scared, and decided not to finish the enrollment anymore. But then the next day I was feeling a lot better already so I decided to go back to the campus to finally register. Yeah, even I don't get myself sometimes. Ang labo ko lang. So now, I'm officially a graduate student. I have to say, though... I'm still not totally excited about this whole thing. I know I'm gonna get used to it. Eventually.

In another note, if you guys haven't followed me on Instagram, then please do. My user name is CodenameAYA and I share personal and blog-related stuff on there :)

(From Google)

See you there!!! :)

And please continue to support my beauty blog - www.codenameaya.com. A giveaway is coming up soon! :)

Real or not real?

Hellooooo! I switched my laptop on again after 3 long days. What have I been doing? Well, here's what...

I've been reading The Hunger Games trilogy OVER AND OVER AGAIN, been watching The Hunger Games movie trailer OVER AND OVER AGAIN, been getting chills and excitement upon watching The Hunger Games movie trailer OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

Whew.

Seriously, I did spend the last three days reading the three books. Didn't get enough sleep but everything's worth it. I cannot wait for the movie to come out! The books themselves are very exciting and hard to put down. Kilig, tawa, luha - yeah, I'm allowed to be shallow once in a while! 

I've never been this excited in a very, very, very long time!