23 December 2009 
Happy Christmas Eve Eve, fellow special snowflakes! >w<;
I've got quite a few festive and colourful blog topics planned for today, but before we get to that, let's take a look at the latest updates, shall we? ^o^
First up, if you've still got a bit of last minute cleaning to do before Christmas Day, then I suggest you check out the Clever Cleaning Tips page! A couple new tips have been added, which will hopefully help you with your Christmas cleaning endeavours.
Next, want to add a few more text based emoticons to your mental cache ...? Then I suggest you click on over to the updated Japanese Text Based Emoticon page and get memorising, stat!
And last, but certainly not least, I have searched through every single page, post, and poem on mallorymaloney.com and fixed all of the incorrect usages of the word 'it's'.
Yep. That's right.
Up until this week I was one of those types of people --- Y'know, the type that has no clue what the difference is between 'it's' and 'its'?
For years now I always assumed that the word 'it's' was a possessive pronoun, as this is what my parents taught me when I was first learning how to read and write. But guess what ...? They taught me the wrong motherfucking thing! -_-;
As Craig Kaplan of The Craig Web Experience so eloquently explains:
"It's" is a contraction. It is short for "it is" (or occasionally for "it has"). It's not a way to ascribe a property to some "it". Yes, I know that this would make sense given that the general rule for forming a possessive is to tack on "'s": fool's errand, brewer's yeast, horse's ass. "It's" is an exception to this rule, and I honestly apologize on behalf of the infuriating English language.
--- From The Craig Web Experience's 'It's "Its"!' page.
As for the word 'its', I was never quite sure how it was supposed to be used, as I can never recall either of parents mentioning it to me ... But I was never too fussed about the matter. I simply stayed away from using it altogether, figuring that this was a decent way to combat the uncertainty.
Clearly, I am a complete fucking imbecile not to realise that 'its' is actually the possessive pronoun ... Not 'it's'! Again, I'll borrow Craig Kaplan's definition for the word:
"Its" is a possessive pronoun. Its interpretation is something like "that which belongs to it", where "it" stands for some previously defined object.
--- From The Craig Web Experience's 'It's "Its"!' page.
I highly doubt that many of my visitors have ever been confused over 'it's' versus 'its', but on the off chance you're a part of the small percentage who doesn't quite grasp the concept, then I suggest you click on over to the aforementioned 'It's "Its"!' page.
Although on the contrary, if such a lengthly page has been created to explain the difference between 'it's' and 'its', then I suppose it's possible that the percentage isn't so low, after all.
Nonetheless, I still feel quite idiotic for only properly learning this now, at twenty two years of age, especially when I've always prided myself on being good at English --- Strange typing habits aside, of course.
I'm quite aware of the correct usage of parentheses, semi colons, hyphens, ellipses, and so on, but for some reason I feel inclined to use them the way I deem appropriate, instead of simply following the preexisting rules. I've talked about the possibility of me having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the past, and I suspect the way I feel the need to type has something to do with that.
But ugh ... Let's move on from this depressingly boring subject, shall we? I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for some of those festive and colourful blog topics I mentioned earlier --- Starting with the red and green pinwheel sugar cookies I made for Christmas!
Some of my long time visitors may remember me making a similar batch of cookies for Halloween of 2008, but they weren't nearly as pretty looking as this new batch ... Nor were they as tasty!
I'm quite happy with how much better they turned out the second time, considering I was expecting red and green copies of the first batch, haha. At the time, I thought they were brilliant, but looking at the photo again, well ... I'm cringing a little. J_J;
I think it's simply because I followed the recipe much more closely this time 'round, right down to what I normally think is unnecessary --- Such as sifting the flour and other dry ingredients two times. Apparently these types of things matter more than one would assume! o_O;
But before I go off on another spiel of self deprecation, let us resume the festive merriment, by taking a look at the lovely Christmas cards and presents a couple of my online friends sent me recently! *^^*
From Heather of HeatherEzell.Com, I received a lovely eco friendly card which was made of recycled paper and printed with soy based inks --- Facts I found much too fascinating, as well as endearing, for they fit Heather's personality perfectly, since she herself is a very 'green' girl. ^^;
And from William of WilliamsBloodyHell.Com, I received an adorable mini Christmas card, along with two of his famous mix CDs! The one on the left is entitled Strange And Unusual, and the one on the right is entitled Fearful Symmetry.
Strange And Unusual's my favourite of the two, because it contains what instantly became a new favourite song of mine --- Freaking Out, by a nu metal band I was previously unaware of called Adema. The beginning of the first verse contains some of the best lines in the whole song:
I was so much an outcast
No one ever liked me
'Cause I wasn't wanted
I was so different from the rest of them all
Definitely a track I'd recommend to anyone who likes nu metal! If you'd like to give it a listen, just click here. ^^
And I've got one more very colourful topic to blog about before I end this entry --- A mini review of the Coastal Scents eighty eight colour eyeshadow palette I recently bought! *_*; But before I go on, click the thumbnails below to view the palette in all of its actual sized glory.
Now that you've had a good close look, let me continue by saying that this beautifully rainbowed palette is awesome in pretty much every way possible --- Which should set the tone for this mini review quite nicely!
First off, one of the best things about Coastal Scents is that their prices are all very reasonable. Need an example? Very well, then --- I paid only $18.95 ((In American funds)) For this palette!
That's right, m'dears, I paid less than twenty bucks for eighty eight different motherfucking shades of eyeshadow! Of course, I'm not just going for quantity --- Because obviously, when it comes to makeup, the quality is what really matters. Never fear, though, because Coastal Scents doesn't fail to deliver in this department, either!
The colours are just as bright on your eyelids as in the palette, ((I know because I haven't yet used a base on my lids for any of the shades!)) The texture is pleasantly soft and powdery, ((Perfect for blending multiple shades together --- And for easily correcting mistakes, haha,)) And they last much, much longer on your eyelids than most eyeshadow do. ((Normally my eyeshadow begins to crease after about five hours of wear, but Coastal Scents' shadows lasted nearly double that!))
Needless to say, I totally recommend this palette to anyone who's interested in eyeshadows ... Even if you're strictly an isthereacolourdarkerthanblack type of person like me! Seriously, you can still create a look that's both dark and colourful if you just play around with the shadows a bit --- And if you need a couple of examples, then check out two of the looks I've created since I got the palette below.
Obviously, I still have a lot of practise ahead of me before I can create looks like some of the girls on YouTube do, but I don't think I did too badly for a beginner! .-.
And now that I've finally exhausted my supply of festive and/or colourful topics for this week's blog segment, I'd like to wish all of mallorymaloney.com's visitors a very happy Christmas! ^o^
Live, laugh, love, and don't get your tinsel in a tangle. o_O
I'm totally looking into buying myself a palette also! I just might have to buy myself that one too. Your photos look great! You did a great job for a beginner! Look like a pro already!
Before I launch into an award-winning comment, I'd again like to say: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MY CHRISTMAS PACKAGE! When I opened it, I had to run downstairs and show Mutti the presentation of it, with the candy canes cleverly sellotaped together to make a heart, and the colourful wrappings and little foam Christmas trees! I nearly cried, it was that good. And I felt awful cause my package sucks and looks really naff compared to yours! Also, I think my favourite gift had to have been the home-made hair bows! They are so fuckin adorable! And the skullies on them remind me of The Mighty Boosh logo which makes everything better in my books :D I also loved the Christmas card you made; that is going in my second scrapbook when I buy it (your Halloween-themed birthday card you sent earlier this year is in my first one :D). So yes, thank you for all of the lovely things you sent; I'm very grateful and excited about it!
Right, onwards..
I'm so glad you finally worked out the difference between it's and its. Unfortunately, I had the same problem for some years, but I think I've conquered it now. Which is a good thing for a writer to say, right? XD
Ehh, your presents so far look cool, but you wait til you get mine! ;D You'd better love it and tell everyone about it, not that it's that amazing the more I think about it. I think the best thing is the SAW comic :/
Anywhore, that is one COLOURFUL PALETTE!! YOU MUST BRING IT WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME OVER IN THE SUMMER!! I'm sorry. If I had that palette, my life would be complete; you know I'm a fiend for eyeshadows :D
Also, I think you should try the rainbow-eye thing that I often do, as in this picture:
http://i48.tinypic.com/6rpjlx.jpg
It's easy, get a red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and purple eyeshadow and literally do a line of each vertically, in that order, starting with the red and finishing with the purple. Try to blend them slightly but not shitloads, cause that makes it look smudgy and shit.
To give you an idea of how easy it is, I did the make-up in that picture in about two minutes. So if I can do it, you can!
Have a great Christmas, and sorry my package didn't get there on time!
Better late than never :D
LOVE AND PROPER CRIMBO!!
K xx
Hahahaha :) I must say your revelation on the "it's" versus "its" was quite amusing. XD I'm glad you figured it out, though! It's quite a conundrum for me to see people not getting it X_X;; Then again, that's an English major for you.
I'm planning on buying the Coastal Scents makeup pallet soon too, as I love myself some eyeshadows ^^)
Merry Christmas <3
Im a special snowflake that doesn't use eyeshadow, why do you discriminate between genders like this! :P
so glad you enjoyed the CDs! i had a feeling you would like Strange and Unusual. I sent Fearful Symmetry because it was my latest compilation at the time and i do think it flows well, but i wasn't sure it would be your bag. i was pretty sure there would be some swell rocking out to be had on Strange and Unusual tho. i had originally made it as a CD swap for another girl who also liked to rock out therefore i thought you might like it, too. hooray that it worked out!
happy x-mas!!
That eyeshadow palatte has me drooling. O_O I so have to nab myself one of those!
It's and Its is a problem I have too. I was taught the possessive the wrong way as well... by a SCHOOL TEACHER, no less!
I wish I could have made the card exchange... I got a P.O. box but I received it a week after the deadline... hopefully next year! :)
Merry Christmas!
Holy shitsicles, that is a HUGE amount of eyeshadow shades...must....buy...
Gah, why didn't I remember to put something like that on my Christmas list?! ;_;
I really like the two looks you created. I'm looking forward to trying the top one out, it's so pretty ^__^
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I broke down and ordered the 88 palette too! I'm impatiently awaiting its arrival. There isn't enough time in one day for all those colors.
A few years ago I learned the real it's and its thing, but I was enlightened in college, not high school or middle school. Either I forgot or they didn't think it was that important.
Merry Christmas to you!
OMG I hate it when people use the wrong form of its and it's. It makes me think of when people confuse "your" with "you're". -_-
I love what you did with your eyes! So cool! O_O.
And your pinwheel cookies look...yum... -drools-
Hope your Christmas went well, Mallory.
Also, a couple of blog entries back, I linked you to a couple of fansigns; did you get them? :)
HoShit. I'm a total makeup fiend! :3 ESPECIALLY eye makeup. Thanks a lot for posting about that makeup. There goes MORE money I don't have to spend T_T
Haha :3
Finally, here is your animated icon!!
http://i47.tinypic.com/14tlbav.gif
Hope you like! I tried to achieve the same rainbow effect as mine cause you seemed mesmerised by it :D
Oh my gosh, I love your eyeshadow looks! Especially the rainbow one! :D
I bought that palette about a year ago I think and I have to agree with you, it is an amazing palette and a steal!
Sadly, I don't buy from Coastal Scents so much because shipping is way too much (around 14 dollars!)
Hope you have a nice Christmas!
Yeahhh, that is me on my layout. XD Yeah I hate the stupid disney star layouts too, they are like "OMG SELENA GOMESSSSH!!!!!!!11one" and it's just like... erm, no. Unoriginal. XD
And thankya very much for the comments on the videos! :) I've never actually thought of my school being big, only because all the schools around my area are roughly the same size. XD Maybe things are just different here. :S
And yeeees, you have the right Calum, he is the one that looks like Taylor Lautner :3 And no your not confusing two guys, so... you don't need to apologise for your retardedness because your retardedness did not exist in the first place! ..I talk a load of crap. o_o;
NOW I MUST COMMENT THIS BLOG~
Accckkkk, the whole 'its' and 'it's' thing confuses me -- I attempted to read that article, but I took a few looks, though "Fuck it. XD" because I knew my undeveloped little brain couldn't handle all that informationz. XD
Speaking of English speakingness... I just realised, that on the comment I left on your last blog, I wrote 'where' when I should've wrote 'wear'... Stupid mistake, I probably wasn't thinking straight when I wrote that and now I seem like a complete idiot who can't tell the difference between 'where' and 'wear'! XD
English has never been my strong point, to be quite honest. >_> I don't SEEM bad, but my wording of things is suckish and when I actually read over for mistakes I find alot. :P
OHMYYYYGOD THOSE COOKIES LOOK YUM. <3 I WANT SOME. I will attempt to make my own.. Wait, no I won't, because I can't bake. ^^; I'LL ASK MY FRIEND WHO IS GOOD AT MAKING FOOD STUFFZ TO MAKE ME SOME. YES. (Y)
I ALSO WANT THAT EYESHADOW. O_O
I should really stop typing in caps, it makes me look like a shouting idiot. XD
I better go now. XD You're not the only one who leaves loooong comments, as you can see, I do that too. XD Surely it can't be a bad thing..?
Okay let's start with the"its" thing. I do too occasionally get confused when writing them! That's why I check everything in Word, it's not shy to tell me when I'm wrong. That article was very interesting, and laid out the it's very well. So I'll be sure to remember that when I'm writing.
Your cookies look amazing and delicious! They seem like they'd be hard to make. though I'm not sure I'd like them to much, because I'm not a big fan of sugar cookies. They might be worth it though just to see how they'd turn out.
I'm sorry my card hasn't arrived yet. I thought I sent it in time, but apparently not. I hope you get it soon.
OMG! I love that palette!!!! I can't believe it's so cheap, and from your review it seems of great quality. to add to my excitement "Coastal Scents" is cruelty free!! If I ever get a job I'm so buying that beauty. Thanks for mentioning it. Your eyeshadow styles are rather nice. I especially like the one on the bottom, so colorful. Jennisse "YouTube girl" is pretty awesome, but I'm sure you'll get up there mighty fast. Your already off to a great start. ;)
your button is done
Oh my! I want you to come and do my make up! You're amazing =) I try to do cool looks like that but I always end up looking like a raccoon. I think I have small eyelids or something. Who knows.
Yay for sugar cookies! They look really cool. Again, I would attempt to try things like that, but they just end up looking like poo.
See, I didn't mind the movie. I hated trying to read the book. I read like the first paragraph and couldn't stand it. It was so poorly written. The movie wasn't absolute crap, I just did not really get anything from it. I hate Bella's character, I hate Edwards character and I hate Jacob's character. I could get more into detail here, but I won't. It's hard to hate
I know the difference between its and it's I just never really care to bother to write it correctly. I'm just cool like that.
Girls are stupid? People are stupid? I dunno, it makes me wonder too. But people do that all the time, not sure why.
Haha it's ok, I forgive you. I can't expect you to remember where every person you talk to lives. I mean you're so popular and all ;p You've had a lot of drama in your life =(
I agree and disagree. I'm going to try to trust him I suppose. He's been doing really good the past 2 days. I know 2 days isn't a lot, but it's more than he's ever done before. But arghahahsdhhf I hate her.
Haha obsessive hoarding indeed, which is what my best friend mentioned. :P LMAO.
Oh, oh, you really do have OCD. But personally I would have gone through all the pages of my site to correct uses of the words "it's" or "its". I have been taught the right thing and since I started web design I sure knew my stuff, so I don't think any of my pages will have any of those errors now.
But being a big grammar Nazi, I totally freak out if someone points out a grammar error in my writing. I really like to have perfect (albeit full of elements of the teenage parlance) English when I write. I'm so picky about mistakes.
"It's" and "it's" is probably not as common as the problem people have with "they're / their / there" and you know those other homophones, I'm sure.
Anyway moving along from grammatical errors. I could go on all day about that if I wanted.
I love those cookies, and they're the same ones you used in that lovely gift! ^_^
SHIT. I never noticed that list you had on Japanese text based emoticons... that is pretty fucking cool. (Y)
Aww, such pretty cards! Oh I tried to win a CD from William once, and FAILED. Hahahha good on me right? No.
That is a steal, less than $20 for all those wonderful colours! My mum has her own set with some nearly-100 colours but I'm not too sure how much it cost. It's precious to her. XP
Blasted bollocks. In my comment:
Should obviously be:
Merry belated Christmas and happy holidays! :)
LOL. Its VS It's!! I remember when I was a kid, and English being my second language, I couldn't tell the differences of the two. To me, they were the same thing. Hahaha!
Take care!
Yummy cookies! I was wondering if you had actually made those after seeing your Christmas sign!
I WANTTTT that eyeshadow pallette. Both of those looks you posted look amazing, & the top one especially looks really well done - just as good as the youtube girls! I love watching makeup vids on youtube, especially really crazy, colorful looks!
Okay, & I'm pretty sure I already replied to your last comment on my blog but I also wanted to mention that the little project I have in mind is certainly not even FOR "straight up goth girls" :P I intend for it to be more alternative/unique girls who don't fit into any particular label. That said, if you change your mind, let me know!
xo bby ;D
That's okay; I didn't think your comment was too "emo" or whatever. :)
Wow, that Japanese Text Based Emoticon page is pretty damn impressive. :O
At least is was your parents who were wrong first. -_- I'm proud of you for fixing all of those errors! It drives me crazy when I have errors like that; I just have to fix them. Yay for OCD I guess?
Those cookies are very pretty. :) They're even actually round! :P
I listened to that song; I kind of like it. :)
Ohhh, what a pretty eyeshadow palette! At less than $20, that seems like such a great deal. Both of those looks you've created look amazing. My favorite is the first one with the silver, black, and purple. I could never do something like that. I'm terrible at both applying and wearing eyeshadow... I forget I'm wearing it and end up rubbing it all off. D:
Thank you. :) I hope you had an excellent Christmas yourself.
That eye shadow palette is so awesome! After years of using no other eye shadow than silver I bought a pink and purple palette for Christmas and I'm beginning to discover all the cool things you can do with eye shadow if you use more than one colour! Too bad I so far kinda suck at blending but practice makes perfect!
I love the silver look in the first photo. That's kinda how I apply my silver eye shadow but yours look much better since you're using other colours as well.
Did I thank you for your Christmas card? If I didn't I apologize, thank you so much! It was really cool and original. :) If I did thank you I apologize for repeating myself. XD
I love how you're correcting your parents grammar by the way. I read your tweets about the mail you sent them and I loled. I have to admit I didn't know the difference between its and it's though. But English isn't my first language so I blame it on that! XD
So like.. it's and its are backward from the normal possessive 's? I never knew that either O_o
I totally found (and WANT) something to go with your new eye shadows..:
http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P246905
Tell me that's not hot! I got this super bitchin' set from Sephora that has like 50 shadows, 20 lip glosses, 3 blushes, 3 eyeliners, brushes and 2 lip pencils. It's like freakin' heaven.
BTW my new domain name will probably be something silly. I have something in mind right now and I am getting the domain name for free (pretty much, using my Rev.iew.me points) so I want to make sure I like it. XD
So yeah, stop by more often. I was thinking about you the other day. Glad you hit me up! ^^
Well. Holy crap. Long post. Very long. So many topics to take about too!
XD It's, its. I was taught that lesson from my grade eight music teacher. She was cool though, didn't make me feel stupid about not knowing the difference. Lol.
Those cookies look really good. I went on a baking extravaganza on Christmas Eve too! Well, my sister did, I just kept her company. She made containers and containers full to give out to the rest of the family. They were awesome.
Mix CDs! CDs are good. Mix CDs from people are even better. And Adema! :)
Sony Vaio? Wow, they are some really good laptops. Some of the specs on them are even greater than some Macbooks!
Hey thanks for the wonderful comments.. I love your site. Would you like to exchange links?
haha you're right! It's difficult to know what's right and what's wrong to say nowadays...everything people would normally say seems to all of a sudden become offensive. -_-
Don't worry, I never knew the difference between 'it's' and 'its' until early this year, amongst other annoying English grammar like things.
I guess it's better that you know it at the age of 22 rather than at the age of 52, or worse yet, never! D:
If everyone used eco-friendly Christmas cards every year for the next decade, maybe global warming wouldn't be such a serious issue -_-
Anyway, that was very lovely of your friends to send you those cards and the mixed-CD's!
Damnit I want to buy that colour palette now! D: But I don't think Australia sells that brand. :( It's such a bargain as well!
Ahh, you're being too modest, you're very good for a beginner ^^ You'll be on youtube in no time. ;)
Thats a hell of a lot of eyeshadow :D so cheap too! That's likee £11.00 in my moneys! And it looks great! I adore the purple eye, it looks amazing.
Those cookies look so cool. I was going to say something REALLY dumb there...I was going to say "they look good enough to eat" and then I realised...you do eat them. In all seriousness. I am such an idiot. :P