Mint Girl Reads Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly

I recently read Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly and illustrated by Lian Cho. It was a book that has been high on my reading list for days. The cover is beautiful as it shows Lalani sitting in her small rowboat while the title, written in gold, is embedded on a tree. This clearly shows Lalani’s journey and the expression on her face shows her troubles.

This is one of my favorite books because of the genre. It’s a fiction/fantasy book. I love reading about magic and how it is used. Each story has its own use of magic in a different world and Lalani of the Distant Sea was no different. This was a lively story about a ghost,unique creatures,and humans who are very different than how we are today.

Lalani of the Distant Sea teaches us about hope, greed, selfishness, and love along with many other virtues. The amazing thing about this book is how Erin Entrada Kelly weaves so many different lessons, perspectives, and characteristics into one book. Lalani of the Distant Sea is truly a miracle book.

Mint Girl Goes to Carrabba’s

When you walk into Carrabba’s, the first thing that hits you is the smell and the bustle of people. Carrabba’s is an Italian restaurant in Upper Kirby in Houston. This restaurant is a bustling place with many people, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

The service at Carrabba’s is very nice. We were seated almost immediately and a waiter was with us soon. Our waiter was very attentive and full of suggestions. Out of all suggestions, I enjoyed the dessert the most. We ordered the seasonal special; the Italian Sundae. The sundae had a vanilla ice cream base. Topping the ice cream was a drizzle of strawberry balsamic vinegar glaze and crumbled almond biscotti . It was absolutely delicious.

We ate family style; sharing everything from everyone’s plate. We got the Minestrone soup, Mamma Mandola’s Sicilian Chicken, Mushroom Ravioli, Stuffed Shrimp Mandola, and my favorite classic…..Margarita Pizza!

Every thing we ate tasted amazing. I don’t think you can go wrong at Carrabba’s.

MLK Day

This MLK Day, I read a poem about Martin Luther King. Then I thought about how the world could be a better place.

The world would be a better place if we could all just sit down to talk instead of fighting. The country’s leader and a few representatives of his or her choice should go.

If we only fight, we’ll lose many of our citizens. Those citizens can be very useful in our nation and their families. If we lose too many volunteers a nation can fall. Families shouldn’t have to lose one of their members just because of war

Millions of people flee their homes and native land to get away from war. Families separate and lose their precious belongings. I don’t think anyone should have to lose any item that they loved and start over in a place they don’t know.

Countries can waste a lot of money on war. Stocking up enough weapons to fight back strongly takes a lot of money. If we could talk it out , it won’t cost anywhere near that amount of money.

This is my idea of a better world. Please tell me how you think the world would be a better place in the comments. Just like MLK, I have a dream.

5 Things I recommend in Dubai

I recently visited Dubai and I enjoyed it a lot. Here are a few of my suggestions on what to do.


1. Go to the top of Burj Khalifa: 
         The first thing we did when we got to Dubai was see the Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa is 828 m tall which makes it the world’s tallest building. We went to the 148th floor and relaxed in the lounge there.

2. Sunset at The Pointe:
                                  The Pointe is on The Palm. It is on one of the fronds of the man-made island. There’s a small beach lined with beanbag chairs which are very comfortable. Overlooking the beach is the famous Atlantis hotel. There are many activities and games on the Pointe. There are also quite a few gift and coffee shops around.

3. Take a speed boat tour:
A speed boat tour is perfect near sunset. As the boat crashes over the waves, you feel carefree. Ours was at the perfect time. When the red sun started to set behind Burj Al Arab, all the phones came out. With the sun hiding, the effect was spectacular! I definitely recommend a boat tour near sunset.

4. The Optical Illusion Museum:
The museum, located in the Al Seef area, may seem small but it’s full of optical illusions. There are some games and pictures which might have you scratching your head. One of my favorite things to do were the optical illusion picture “booths”. One person would stand in a certain area based on the instructions and the other person would snap a pic on the labeled spots. This was one of my top favorite places.

5. The Dubai Miracle Gardens:
The Gardens is full of vibrant and colorful creations. The amount of plants and flowers in a desert astonishes me. There are many sculptures like dancers, an airplane, horses, and more! This place truly is a miracle. It is my top pick in Dubai!

Mint Girl Reads: Shine! by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

One of the best books I’ve read this year is Shine! by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein. Shine! tells the story of a young girl named Piper Milly who is a new student at Chumley Prep, an fancy middle school. She makes fast friends with 3 of her classmates and learns from them. Then a mysterious source announces an award called the Excelsior Award. Piper feels that winning the award will help her fit in. Throughout this story, Piper learns about the importance of friends and that who you are is defined on the inside.

Shine is one of those books that makes you feel good about yourself. J.J. and Chris Grabenstein put a lot of detail into Shine! and I feel like I know a lot about Piper and who she is. The lesson here is to be yourself no matter what happens. The book also talks about how acadamics are important but they aren’t everything.

DIY Christmas Jars

This year, I made some really cool christmas craft projects. One of my favorites was the christmas jars.

Items needed:

  • some old jars (I used mason jars, but you can use any type you want)
  • epsom salt
  • ribbon (use colors that will pop out)
  • medium sized silver balls
  • fake greenery
  • mod podge (or clear glue)
  • hot glue (only use with adult supervision)

Instructions:

  1. Coat part of the exterior of the jar with the mod podge.
  2. Sprinkle the epsom salt on the mod podge.
  3. Repeat until you cover the whole jar.
  4. Do this to how many ever you want to do and set to dry.
  5. Once dry, measure and cut the ribbon you’ll need to wrap around the top of your jar.
  6. Using the hot glue, glue the ribbon around the top and let dry.
  7. Take two or more sprigs of the fake greenery and glue in the center of the ribbon.
  8. Glue one or two silver balls on the greenery with hot glue.
  9. Let dry.

Once they’re dry, you can use them as anything from a pen holder to a candy jar! The epsom salt looks just like snow and the greenery with the silver balls looks really nice. These jars are amazing and really cute too!

Please try this and leave a comment about how it went!

Friendsgiving Party 2017

In 2017, I hosted a Friendsgiving party. All of my besties came . We played games, ate delicious food, and had tons of fun.

I treasure all of my friends greatly and I wanted to have a party / play date with all of them. Thanksgiving was coming up soon and I wanted to do something fun with all of my friends. Then I had a great idea. Why not smash the two together and have a Friendsgiving party? I explained the idea to my mom and she agreed. I was going to host a Friendsgiving party!

My mom and I brought decorations way ahead of time. We bought some orange and silver tassel curtains, photo booth supplies, and a cute sign that read “Welcome Friends”. We decided on colors for the party would be blue and orange. I got a very fall-ish attire. A blue dress with fall leggings and a fall scarf.

We decided to do a mix of Indian and American foods. We had apple cinnamon pie poundcake bites,And muffins, mini colored idlies (an Indian food), and turkey cranberry pecan sandwiches. We had apple juice cider and apple pie punch to drink. All of the food was good and my friends and I couldn’t stop eating. Finally, we all went upstairs to play games. After about an hour, everyone’s parents came to pick them up. I’ve always remembered that day as the best day of my life.

The Ocean

I see the ocean

So majestic, so wide, so blue

Furious…but calm

Choppy…but smooth

A beach in Chennai

Deep Turquoise and Dark Blues

Fill the space

Waves crash and Fish play

In the most majestic place

Down Below

A beach in Corpus Christi

Tides

Come and Go

In and Out

With the flow

An ocean in The Bahamas

Choppy…But smooth

Furious…But calm

So majestic,So wide, So blue

A soothing balm

To my soul

The Ocean

Mint Girl In Udaipur

Last summer I went to Udaipur, Rajasthan with my family.

I marveled at the mesmerizing buildings and wondering how much effort has been put into constructing them. Udaipur is a place I’d visit

The intricate architecture caught my eye and I couldn’t wait to see more of it. Udaipur has interesting architecture around every corner. During my trip to the Udaipur City Palace, I noticed how detailed and descriptive the drawings and pictures on the walls were. The space was well utilized.Every piece of architecture fit in perfectly.

Udaipur

Decorating with mirrors was a very common theme I noticed in Udaipur. Typically, a picture was painted and mirrors are placed in suitable locations. My family and I were equally amazed by the amazing architecture.

I couldn’t wait to learn more about the history of Udaipur. Udaipur has a very interesting past. Udaipur was ruled by the Mewar kings and the members of the royal family still live in Udapur. I am fascinated by the life in the era of kings. The kings in those days used to hunt and trap tigers and panthers in the surrounding Aravali hills. They also like to watch elephants wrestle for entertainment. My visit to Udaipur gave me a peek into a time period very much unlike mine. See you there!