tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23084723580645331242024-03-13T00:14:35.944-07:00A Good Book and a Cup of TeaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-64104336576940543712014-03-31T11:30:00.001-07:002014-03-31T11:31:50.783-07:00To Count as a Classic or Not? So far this year I have read a lot of books that are easily defined as a classic: Emma by Jane Austen, Crime and Punishment, and even Watership Down, though its author is still alive. Of course there are many, many others. I've read a lot of books that are called classics, but are they truly? Can a book be a classic if its author is still alive? Perhaps if 50 years had gone by I could understand. But just 20 years? Or TEN?<br />
If Ender's Game is a classic, is Speaker for the Dead? Is Game of Thrones a classic? What about The Help? Is that, too, already considered a classic. Can I count these books as part of the 50 classics I seek to read this year? I even struggled putting Ender's Game into the count, and when I did that, I wanted to count Speaker for the Dead too, especially because I feel it was the better of the two. Yet I didn't. I don't know why. I also didn't count The Time Traveler's Wife, which many would claim as a classic without a doubt. Same with The Notebook. I plan on reading The Help, Water for Elephants, The Thirteenth Tale, Stardust, and the rest of the Song of Ice and Fire series and Ender's Game series. Would you count these as classics? Would you have counted Speaker for the Dead, Game of Thrones, The Time Traveler's Wife, and The Notebook?<br />
If I count all these book as classics, then I must make my goal higher. At the same time I feel I must make distinctions between the solid classics and the newer classics. And then what of contemporary classics like One Day and Perks of Being a Wallflower? Or Hunger Games? Or... Well, there seems to be no limitation nor does it seem to be very hard to qualify as a classic. Where is the line drawn? Why is it that we have such low standards or to be so quick to call something a classic? There used to be a time as a young girl that I thought a book was only a classic if it was written 100 years ago. Then as I got older that 100 became 50. Now it seems to be 20 or 10 or less than that! So long as the sales are high, it's written with high quality, and it's well loved, we are quick to call it a classic. Yet how many will stand the test of time?<br />
With technology advancing and the world flinging along quicker and quicker, it makes sense that we are so quick to call something a classic or to be assured that it will be a classic. With all honesty, there are many books that will be immortalized because of our technology. Likewise we do not have all the great books from long ago because of the lack of technology. But does this mean our new books are classics? I understand and even join along in quickly labeling a book a classic, but I find it hard to place all these new classics on the same shelves as those written hundreds of years ago. I see classics written between 50 and 100 years ago to be bridging the gap between the ancient classics and those that have been released recently which we already labeling as classics. What are your thought on all these ideas? <br />
<ol>
<li>What books from the past 25 years would you consider solidly a classic to be counted in my 50 classics? </li>
<li>Would you consider the rest of a series classics if the first book is? Even if the rest of the series is still being published? (Game of Thrones, Ender's Game, The Giver) </li>
<li>If an author still living wrote a classic and is still publishing books, are all their books classics as well? (Lois Lowry- The Giver, J.K. Rowling- Harry Potter, George R. R. Martin- Game of Thrones, Richard Adams- Watership Down)</li>
</ol>
P.S. It is a lot of fun to guess what books will be classics in the future. What are some of your favorites?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-80117615316029366122014-03-14T13:44:00.003-07:002014-03-14T13:45:31.158-07:00Wishing on a Dream Room, Summer, and a Few Fun ThingsLately I've desired to do or have quite a few lovely little things (not all of them are little though). I've been dreaming of summer, how I want my room to be, and a few fun things to do. So here's my late winter wish list!<br />
<br />
<br />
Summer: I absolutely love winter. As in very much so. Not to mention I haven't had the chance to go skiing yet! But this year more than ever I can't wait to feel the warm sun on my skin, to swing in a hammock on a warm, breezy summer day, and to sit in a sun room that's not ten degrees. I can't wait to wear shorts and tank tops on a super hot day with perhaps an iced latte using my mom's new machine for it while lounging by the pool or in the hammock, reading a nice big book. I refuse to be stuck inside this summer. Therefore, I need to bust my butt with schoolwork so that I don't have too much to do this summer (because it's looking like my whole summer might be playing catch up).<br />
<br />
<br />
To make my dream room: There's so much I'd love to do but almost all of it is little things in my eyes. Basically I need to do some major thrift shopping to find the perfect items!<br />
<ol>
<li>Paint my room, preferably a light vintage pink- this is a pretty big project, but my mom said it will be done!</li>
<li>Taller, bigger bookshelves- this is kind of a must since my bookshelves are very full and half my shelves are make shift from cardboard boxes. Those books need to be placed on a real, nice shelf!</li>
<li>My reading chair- just recently I saw on a booktuber's channel her reading chair, and the more I think about it, I would love to have one of those big, comfy armchairs as my reading chair rather than the butterfly chair I have right now. This won't be too big of a deal until I paint my room, and my current chair won't match. So I'll be looking around at the thrift shops for the perfect chair! :)</li>
<li>The floor- all right I'm not actually planning on replacing the blue carpet anytime soon because it's quite expensive to do that, but I hope that in the next three or so years that it's done.</li>
<li>A side table for my reading chair- I have a box with blankets in it that I was thinking of using as a makeshift side table, but I would love to go thrifting to find a really great side table. That will also mean that I'll need a...</li>
<li>Vintage stand up lamp!- It'd be super cool to have this next to my future spiffy armchair. Another thrift item (unless Mom lets me steal the one from downstairs haha!)</li>
<li>Candles- I've been itching to be allowed to light candles in my room, beautiful fragranced candles. It just seems absolutely dreamy, and easy!</li>
<li>Curtains- This is going to be so hard! I would love to have lacey, light and airy curtains, but I also need curtains that are thick enough so no one will see through them from outside. Hm... I'll thrift around for a bit on these, but I may end up also looking in department stores. :(</li>
</ol>
Things I want to do in the near future!<br />
<br />
<br />
Camp NaNoWriMo: I've created a novel, but I'm still a bit undecided whether I'm going to even do Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm terribly behind in schoolwork. I'm incredibly ahead for my reading goal of 50 classics this year (15/50), so taking a month where I only read two or so wouldn't be that big of a deal. It's the schoolwork that determines this one. Even if I do Camp NaNo, my goal won't be to finish a novel but rather to just write everyday in April on this idea I have. The writing could be planning out events, rambling about anything from the point of view of different characters, or legit writing chapters. Whatever I feel like as long as I'm writing.<br />
<br />
<br />
Doing my hair: I want to do my hair more often. I've been loving braids and buns, so we'll see. It's nice to actually do my hair every now and then rather than just brush and run! :)<br />
<br />
<br />
Weeding my clothes: I desperately need to get rid of everything I don't really wear. In return I'd love to buy some basic clothes I find I'm lacking like white and plain black shirts.<br />
<br />
<br />
Listening to soft jazz music playing in the background while I read late at night: the only thing missing is the candles! :) It's an absolutely dreamy, lovely thing to do. I really enjoyed it last night. Almost like I was on vacation for a bit.<br />
<br />
<br />
So there it is! My wish list right now. There's a lot that I can do easily. I'm so excited to get started! This time of year when we've been given a taste of Spring only to have Winter claim the throne again is just the time of year everyone starts dreaming up things and going on Spring Cleaning mode. I can't wait for Spring and Summer! We've had a rough winter that is beginning to overextend its stay. I'll enjoy the beauty while it lasts though because come summer I'll be dying for fall and winter. Ciao!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-48844295895763571582014-03-04T18:54:00.002-08:002014-03-04T18:57:24.566-08:00Holy Camoly! I Read So Many Classics in February! So maybe people don't say holy camoly anymore. Too bad. I do. For some reason in my childhood I picked up loads of outdated phrases that I've continued to use to this day like oh shucks!, Geez Louis, nice goin' Melvin (from a Detroit Zoo commercial when my dad was a kid), and numerous others. But I like them so I'll keep saying them. :)<br />
Now to the point. This last month I read a 19 books. One was a kid book and quite a few mangas, but they still totally count as books... right? ;) The main focus though is that I read 10 classics this month! That's a huge jump from January's lonely Treasure Island, the only classic I read that month. Of course, I <em>had</em> been reading a few massive classics that month which I finished this month. All right, I only finished one seeing as the other was Les Miserables, and I did not finish reading that this month. In fact, I barely picked it up. As for the books I did read, I am so excited to share them with you!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling</u></em>- I decided to read this real quick one night, didn't even pick it up until midnight! Then later that week I found out it was a Harry Potter marathon week. How awesome that I got a head start without even knowing it. :) (though I didn't end up reading much Harry Potter haha)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Emma by Jane Austen</u></em>- I absolutely loved this book! For years I have avoided hearing anything about who ends up with who in this Austen classic. I must admit that despite my efforts some names trinkled down. Mr. Knightley and Emma, two main characters. Even with only a few known details I managed to guess a lot of what would happen early on in the book. It was so much fun to read this book. Especially because I was going to go from Pride and Prejudice to Sense and Sensibility to Mansfield Park. However, getting to Mansfield Park I just couldn't get into it at the time. Picking up Emma, however, was so wonderful and beautifully written, as always by our dear Jane Austen. <br />
P.S. The Harry Potter marathon really prompted me to finish this book in the first week of February since I figured that it connected so much to Harry Potter, being J.K. Rowling's favorite book and model, that I ought to read it quickly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen</u></em>- Finishing Emma the first Thursday of the month I was in such a Jane Austen mood that less than an hour later I picked up Northanger Abbey! I read for a few hours, put it down to go to bed, woke up, and immediately picked it back up again. I loved reading all Austen's opinionated rants that filled a page here and a page there. Quite different from the other novels I've read by her. I loved this one just as much though! While reading this book I developed a queer habit, capable because the book was quite small and therefore light, that I would pace about my room whilst reading this book. It certainly added to the excitement of the novel! After all that Austen in February, I am so excited to read the last two books by her!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky</u></em>- I will admit that I started this one way back in October, read everything but the last 150 pages, and didn't pick it up again due to the holidays. However, after adding two more books to my "have read" pile, I was feeling the motivation to plow through the rest of this amazing classic. I must also admit that before I read this book I thought it would be quite the punishment (haha okay not that funny of a pun, bare with me). I thought this book would be one of those hard to read and hard to understand classics. You can imagine my surprise at finding it so easily read and engaging! I was pulled into the story quickly, and I loved that I could actually notice the literary devices being used, especially the foreshadowing! I really enjoyed Dostoevsky's writing and just picked up Brothers Karamazov to read this year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister and illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith</u></em>- This one's the childrens book. I read quite a few kids books, but I've only counted this one in my personal reading since I picked it up just for me. I loved the illustrations and the story was so cute about a boy that believes in magic and travels to the place Between where magicians pull the rabbits out of or the things and people that they make disappear. Very cute.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>The Time Machine by H.G. Wells</u></em>- Before reading this I had read The Invisible Man by Wells, which I loved. I have to admit that in the hour it took to read this book, I didn't actually like it that much. I felt like it certainly wasn't character driven (something we're so used to these days yet wasn't a staple and sometimes a common do-not-do for some genres in the past- think mystery, maybe science fiction, ect.). It wasn't just that, though, which may be excused based on the grounds that maybe that was common practice at the time. I just felt like the story wasn't told very well. There certainly wasn't much in depth talk about the science. The time traveling itself and the places he went to and what happened there just weren't very engaging to me. They could have been and the ideas are magnificent, but the story itself wasn't written well in my opinion. Definitely not a favorite of mine nor, in my opinion, Wells greatest work. However, it is worth the short read I suppose just to see the story in its raw form as it finds its way into many modern day allusions to it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper</u></em>- Once again I was feeling incredibly motivated, and seeing as my room was running out to place my read books due to a stack of American Literature books I have on the same shelf, I decided to read this book since it's also for school. Having at this point gotten very used to reading straight through even the boringest books or lengthy passages, I decided to read straight through this one. I'll admit I had picked this book up last year and could not get into it for the life of me. I was rather curious why people love it so much. And now I know. It took me 150 pages to get into this story. Yes, 150. With most books I would never give them that many pages, but I had to read this for school and so I stuck with it. At that point, halfway through the book, I was sucked into the story. I could barely put the book down, and when I got to the end I tried not to cry. Then I just let myself delve deeper in and shed a few tears. I had completely fallen in love with the characters, even some that I didn't realize I had fallen in love with until the end. I cannot express how glad I am that I stuck through the first 150 pages because this book was so amazing! I would love to reread, in fact probably will soon! I want to read the entire Leatherstock Tales, but unfortunately, they aren't all easily found in book format unless you want to pay $50, which I don't, though I may seriously think about it- that's how much I loved this book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card</u></em>- I read this book because I loved the movie. As usual, the book blew the movie out of the waters. This book was so complex. The ideas and feelings brought to the surface so deep that I can hardly form solid opinions about this book. One thing I do know is that it isn't just a kid's book. This is a book for all ages to read. I also know that I will reread this someday because right now I don't know exactly what to say about it. Therefore, I will only leave this with a high suggestion to read the book! By the way, would you consider this a classic? I have counted it as one towards my goal of 50 classics because it had a huge influence on science fiction novels, or so I'm told. Let me know what you think.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card</u></em>- I picked this one up a day after reading Ender's Game. I went into it knowing it would be different than Ender's Game since EG is more of a prequel to this book that was Card's original idea (as he says in EG's intro). For others that are going to read this after Ender's Game, know that it is like a totally different story. The characters are different, there's obviously a different plot, and Ender is 35 years old, a lot different from his six year old self. Even though I felt like Ender was probably similar to how he was as a youngster, I felt as though we don't get to know everything about him, almost as though we aren't really in his brain, even though sometimes we are. The younger characters were more of a focus to me, as well as the pequeninos, the new alien species. So even though others say they thought this was boring compared to Ender's Game, I actually thought it was better. Seriously, I thought this was a lot better than Ender's Game. I can't quite describe it but being in the minds of other characters was great. I can't wait to read Xenocide which picks up right after this book. I have a feeling I am going to become a major Ender fan with all the books I get to read. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>A Place Called Home by Jason Grant</u></em>- All right, this one was just because of all the pretty pictures inside it. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells</u></em>- This was a lot better than The Time Machine. I must admit I was expecting little green martians in flying saucers. The aliens in this book were much different than that! Trust me, Wells goes into the anatomy of them, and their machines are quite interesting. It was a fairly good book, though, again, I liked Invisible Man more. I would love to watch the movie sometime. But back to the book! The characters in this book seemed more real than in Time Machine, and it's incredibly interesting to hear the main character's thoughts as he battles with issues of surviving and humanity all while worrying if his wife even exists and how to get back to her. As for the plot, well the aliens fighting the army seemed real enough for the time I suppose (a radio reading of the story led thousands to panic!), but today we would probably be able to wipe out the attacking aliens. Not to mention I would imagine aliens to be higher advanced in technology and inteligence, though this would likely be due to the advancement of today's technology. Overall it was a great book! The battles inside the main character's thoughts were the most interesting to me as he struggled through changed and dangerous lands.<br />
<br /><br />
<em><u>Vampire Knight Volume 17 by Matsuri Hino</u></em>- I read the first 16 volumes way back in December so I was a bit lost when I picked this one up, but that doesn't change the fact that I love this series! I completely recommend this manga series as one of my favorites. There are only two more left! Yay! I don't read much manga so I'm not much interested getting into manga series that go on forever that I could never catch up to. This is a great series though, seriously. Read it! I still can't decide if I like Kaname or Zero more. Hm.. Till the end then!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit Vol. 1 and 2 by Quin Rose</u></em>- You know how I just mentioned I wouldn't be that interested in reading a forever long manga series. Well this is the exception. I would absolutely love, completely flip out, if I knew the Alice in the Country of Hearts series would never end! (This includes Alice in the Country of Jokey and Alice in the Country of Clover.) These two volumes that I read are an offshoot of the series with the idea of what if Alice fell in love with Elliot March, the mad hare. I love his character and this was a funny mini series. I did feel that this offshoot had a lot more sexual references than the other ones or was dirtier but wasn't over the top like a lot of manga, and I still loved the story and of course, the characters. :D<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter's Late Night Tea Party Volume 1 and 2 by Quin Rose</u></em>- Okay, the Mad Hatter is one of my favorite characters so I loved this manga! Out of all the offshoots I've read, this was my favorite so far. There was action, romance (of course), and the loveable characters as always. :) It was just amazing!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame</u></em>- I actually did quite a long book review on this which you can find <a href="http://agoodbookandtea.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-review-wind-in-willows.html" target="_blank">here</a>! P.S. I loved this book!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>The Princess Bride by William Goldman</u></em>- I read this on recommendation from a friend, and though it was a bit odd of a book, I loved it just as much as the movie. :) Some of the characters I liked better than the movie, some I liked better in the movie. Overall by blending the two I loved all the characters. The movie was incredibly accurate to the book without the extra journey of the narrator, which makes the book unique from the movie. Not to mention the book ends totally different. The adventures don't end, and I loved that! I get the perfect romance ending in the movie and a more realistic ending (as far as fantastical adventures go) in the book. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><u>Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne</u></em>- (Warning: Prepare for rant on my opinion on major science theory halfway through paragraph. I couldn't help myself, sorry. haha) This was my first Jules Verne novel I've ever read. I decided it was about time. I must say it was not a disappointment! The book was very heavily written on science topics to educate the people while still maintaining a high adventure and growing characters. The main character begins as a young boy and grows up into a man by the end of the book. Their journey to the center of the earth reveals the kinds of ideas people had back then regarding science and the earth. It was particularly obvious the discussions on Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Obviously today we know a lot more in the science field and genetics and even time frame of the history of humans. Things that are revealed in question in the book, are common knowledge today. I for one don't think that science can at all support Darwin's Theory anymore, though most people have not been revealed to the modern science world since kids are still taught that evolution is fact rather than just a theory. It baffles me that teachers don't even teach the evidence that goes against evolution. I mean really, when you learn one side of an argument in order to support yourself you have to at least know the other side. Teachers really ought to share all the major science points and what today's science has revealed in those areas. It almost seems that instead of teaching and giving us knowledge they just want to give us exactly how to think. Let the science speak for itself. Give all sorts of theories, but don't favor one over the other while teaching and let the science speak for what it possibly true and what is in no way possible. I love science so it was really interesting to read Jules Verne's book even if we now know that most of it isn't true. I can't wait to read more of his books!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So that's it! Whew! One update in case you didn't catch that from my intro is that I have definitely changed my reading goal this year from 25 classics to 50. Therefore I am over 1/5 of the way done! I have read 11/50 classics this year so far, and I think I'll probably end up getting around 75 done. If by June it's looking like 100 is possible, then you betcha I will be raising the bar! I look forward to all the classics I'll read this March. I've already started Watership Down. It is so fantastic that I will definitely do a full book review on it! Until next time! I'll be discussing the idea of planning what you read. Look forward to it soon!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-59583187288593158472014-03-02T14:58:00.000-08:002014-03-02T14:59:40.063-08:00Book Review: Wind in the Willows This was such a lovely book I couldn't help but want to share my opinion on it, and seeing as I plan to read a lot of classics this year, I thought I would give short little book reviews for all the books I read. So welcome to my first book review here in which I look back at childhood memories and a few aspects of the story itself.<br />
As I mentioned, Wind in the Willows was an absolutely lovely book. I grew up watching the movie several times. So many, in fact, that I can envision, right now, the character of Water Rat and hear his voice in my ears. Reading the book was like watching the movie all over again. The peaceful riverside, the daring adventures of Toad, and all the wonderful characters rolled through my mind. Each character's voice and appearance as in the movie was exactly what I saw and heard so clearly as though they were standing right in front of me. Perhaps because of seeing the movie long before reading the book, as well as being almost an adult, I did not experience the story with as much imagination. This book was less like reading a children's book, if it can even be called that, and more like sinking into a comforting world of familiar faces and places.<br />
But I doubt you have the same childhood fondness of Wind in the Willows as I did. Nonetheless, I truly recommend reading this book. I picked it up when I had a major migraine and to that point, a horrible day. It took very little time before I'd sunk into the peaceful life by the River which soothed me of my headache. Then there were the crazy, whimsical adventures of Toad that never quite turned out. They were entertaining in their own respect, but I found I was always wanting to get back to the River. Some people will read this book and hate the River parts, wanting to move on in the adventure of theft, battle, and risk taking. As a child I always disliked the parts in the beginning with the slow River stories. It was Toad's adventures I wanted to watch. Now that I'm older it's the opposite funny enough.<br />
But always there was dependable, mature Badger, and Rat, whom is probably my favorite because of the movies. Mole, oh innocent loveable Mole! And a myriad of other characters. I believe the afterword in my version states it best that this book is really three books in one. A lovely soothing time to sink into, a high adventure of reckless youth, and the beauty of living in nature. I believe that anyone could find something they love in it.<br />
I have heard people say though, that reading the book as adult was not very enjoyable, that it was a childish book, or other excuses along the line of the story. Personally, though my young imaginative child self would have read the book with much imagination, I truly believe I have read it at a far better time in my life. I was able to look past just the story and see life and learn and see the hidden messages in the book. For truly, the author seems to write more for an adult audience looking back on childhood memories and wanting to escape the world for a bit. Or to warn the young that there are terrible things out there and we ought to stay where we are for as long as we can by peaceful River (all right that idea came from the Afterword haha). Regardless of age, I think we can all enjoy this book. I'm incredibly thankful I picked it up. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-23321361568742942932014-02-21T14:34:00.000-08:002014-02-21T14:34:48.106-08:00Caught Between Books and Just Trying to Relax I'm one who tends to be reading many books at once. Currently I am "reading" (which means not really reading) Les Miserables, The Wind in the Willows, The Bell Jar, and various other books that hardly even qualify as "reading". Yet, I keep picking up other books. I don't stick to the books I'm reading nor do I even glance at the stack of books I have determined I will read next. I suppose I love the freedom to randomly pick a classic of my shelf, sit down, and read the whole book straight through. Forget about the books I must read. Forget the books I even really want to read. The spontaneity of a few hours spent on a really short classic is wonderful. This month I've read so many books that way: The Time Machine, Northanger Abbey, War of the Worlds, Wind in the Willows (though I didn't finish that one, yet), and I know there will be many more.<br />
I sat down to write this because I have only recently finished reading a great many books. Already I am astounded with how many classics I have read this month, and there's still a week left! So here I was sitting in a rather gloomy mood. I have less than an hour before the craziness of this weekend begins. The last few days I've been stressing about how jam packed my schedule is this weekend. From Friday 6:30 pm to Sunday 5 pm I have no break. Right now I have about half an hour before I have to leave the house, and I wanted to do something I would really enjoy. The list contained watching an episode of Downton Abbey season 4, watching Emma, or reading a book. Neither of the first two seemed like that great of an idea. I suppose I'll have to check them out from the library at some other time.<br />
So book it was! Every book I looked at though seemed like a bad time to start it, not in the mood, or some other excuse. I wanted something relaxing. Writing a post for this blog A Good Book and A Cup of Tea sounded lovely. Though I'm not drinking tea, I did heat up a cup of hot cocoa, which in winter is absolutely perfect. The weather outside is cold, but nice- at least to me. :) My siblings had no school today because of the icy roads. Snow is melting and winter is almost gone, though undoubtedly we'll have a few more flurries. Just sitting here with hot cocoa writing about books while listening to Pride and Prejudice has wound me down. In fact, The Wind in the Willows sounds like a lovely read right now. <br />
I'm incredibly thankful that I was finally able to spend some relaxing time before I'm whirled away with the adventurous weekend. Now that I have officially rambled on long enough I will say adieu and snuggle up with my warm cup of hot cocoa, Pride and Prejudice music, and the lovely world of Wind in the Willows. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-12462152262446722712014-02-09T15:00:00.002-08:002014-02-09T15:02:29.393-08:00The Harry Potter Read-A-Thon: Fail(ish) Well, obviously my Harry Potter Read-A-Thon I attempted to join was a fail. I read Quidditch Through the Ages before I even knew the marathon was happening and only barely squeezed in 36 pages of Prisoner of Azkaban. Yah, that's right- 36 pages. So long my aspiration to read even one whole Harry Potter book. Haha! Despite the lack of Harry Potter in my week, I am so proud of my week in reading terms! I managed to finish Emma, upon which I immediately picked up Northanger Abbey, hungry for more Jane Austen. May I say, oh my goodness I loved Emma! And then, Northanger Abbey was so amazing as well! Both were quite different from the other books I've read by her, Northanger Abbey more so. <br />
I finished Northanger Abbey in one day. In the meantime, I discovered I enjoy pacing back and forth as I read. It was soothing despite being literally three steps and turn (tiny open space in my cluttered room). Of course, I was holding an incredibly short book of just over 200 pgs. Pacing with Les Miserables- not such a good idea. I can only imagine how tired my arms would get. Jane Austen also happens to be written in particularly the era and style that lends itself to make me very calm and of the pacing sort I suppose. :)<br />
But that's not all! I finally finished Crime and Punishment! I started the book at the end of October last year, but didn't finish it since my Battle of the Books competition happened. It was then lost amidst Christmas, reading the Vampire Knight Academy Manga series, and many other books. My worst habit is not finishing a book, and so often I read the majority of it, set it down, and come back months later starting from the beginning. Even my dad knew I would do this. He actually commanded me to finish the book so I wouldn't waste more time later. Unfortunately, I didn't pick it up until Friday. The motivation from adding two classics to my finished pile, hurtled me into finishing this book.<br />
My biggest fear was that I would end up starting from the beginning of Crime and Punishment, so I was really determined not to. However, if you know anything about Russian literature there are multiple names for each character. In Crime and Punishment there are quite a few characters as well. I was really lost for a while and only when I was 50 pages through my last 150 pgs did I finally understand who everyone was and what was happening. It did prove once again to me that sometimes you just have to push through a book. This happened for Inferno, but I understood that after the first three pages.<br />
At the end of it all, I am so glad I finished Crime and Punishment. I must say that I had thought it would be terribly hard to read and well, Punishment (ok, lame joke, I know). I loved the book though! It was really engaging and fast in its own way. I loved his writing well enough that I picked up Brothers Karamazov the other day, but trust me, I have no intention to read it anytime soon. (Why buy it then? It was buy 2 get 1 free for classics.)<br />
And now I have three more books added to my finished pile. The update for my reading goal of 25 classics this year is 4/25. I'm caught up for February, but if I want to finish 50 books, I have to read 4 more this month. :o Next book to attack- Frankenstein and The Time Machine (notice the short theme haha). So adios! Until next week. :)<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-28668888725857587252014-02-05T08:54:00.000-08:002014-02-05T08:58:31.139-08:00Whimsical and Nerdy Goals (I can dream right?)<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Two days ago I posted <a href="http://agoodbookandtea.blogspot.com/2014/02/30-fun-goals-for-2014.html" target="_blank">30 Fun Goals</a> for 2014 mostly covering music, books, writing, and various little things I've always wanted to try. This year is looking to be quite the busy year full of school, work, and, hopefully, personal growth. However, despite my wonderful list I've made, there are a few other little goals that are either insensible or I simply don't have a lot of time for this year (though, I'd love to get through these goals- except maybe the first haha). I'd love to share these whimsical "goals" because they show a bit of insight into the nerdy me:</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<ol>
<li>Play more video games: especially Minecraft, Lego Harry Potter, and Infinity Blade. Plus I would love to check out Shadows of Mordor when it comes out (geeky side right there. Love LoTR and the graphics on that game look great, exactly the kind I like)</li>
<li>Dress more artistically at least a couple times a week- this is a big one, that I will in all honestly likely dip in and out of it throughout this year. I just need to get up the guts to wear what I want to.</li>
<li>Buy Harry Potter Wizarding Collections (this will likely never happen considering it is $400! But my little fan heart can dream, right?)</li>
<li>Sew my own dresses, at least a simple black one that fits me perfectly and attractively and can be used at most seasons of the year (we're talking Michigan seasons here haha- cold!)</li>
<li>Learn to skateboard- childhood dream right here :)</li>
<li>Do more DIYs. This is a biggy seeing as I have many little things I want to do, particularly concerning my room: curtains, painting my room, artwork or display wall, and the list goes on.</li>
<li>Discover more music- indie, folk, ect. I love music and really hope to add a few more favorite artists this year</li>
<li>Buy or make more flower crowns: I love these so much! I own one, but I'm hoping to buy a really big one someday :)</li>
<li> I must go to the Renaissance festival. There's no doubt about it, this must happen. I'll likely go with just my friends this year. Last year I went with my family, and it was so much fun! But the big thing about this year is that I want to finally buy a corset, and I would love to buy a cloak. And a sword and armor, but those won't happen. ;)</li>
<li>Read 100 books this year!</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 48pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Obviously
these don't take priority in life. I mean seriously, more video games? ;P But some, like sewing and dressing more to my taste are ones that I would love to build into this year. If I don't, then these are taking top priority next year! </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-18530309800322956222014-02-03T20:31:00.000-08:002014-02-03T20:31:12.379-08:0030 Fun Goals for 2014 I saw on <a href="http://herlibraryadventures.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Her Library Adventures</a>, a blog I follow, a fun little list of <a href="http://herlibraryadventures.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Thirty%20Goals" target="_blank">30 Fun Goals</a> to do this year. She did a similar list for last year. And I absolutely love the idea! So I created my own list of 30 Fun Goals for 2014. Some of them require building habits day to day, week to week, and others are just things I want to do this year- one time, check, activities. <br />
<ol>
<li>Go to the concert of a folk/indie band: I would love if it was The Vespers, Lyric Everly, or Jenny and Tyler, but most of my favorite bands just toured in Michigan last year. :( However, I just found out that Lorde is coming here next month! I don't love her music, but it definitely has been categorized as indie and the music part (not the lyric part) is pretty good :)</li>
<li>Learn the ukulele</li>
<li>Read minimum 25 (high goal of 50) classics</li>
<li>Read more non-fiction</li>
<li>Spend less time surfing Internet, more time being productive</li>
<li>Journal more</li>
<li>Take more pictures and PRINT my pictures (I never print my pictures and wish I did, especially for hanging on the walls in collages)</li>
<li>Make 3 art pieces (we are talking finished, big art pieces here)</li>
<li>Do Devotions everyday</li>
<li>Doodle more- fill my small sketchbook (crazy idea!)</li>
<li>Fill one notebook (writing notebook, which is, of course, different than a drawing notebook)</li>
<li>Eat more healthy foods- don't munch on unhealthy foods</li>
<li>Girls night sleepover, cut out magazines</li>
<li>Lord of the Rings extended edition marathon</li>
<li>Read all Jane Austen's novels</li>
<li><strike>Go to Liz's Bookstore and sift through the stacks, finding books</strike></li>
<li>Get up early</li>
<li>Go to Rhema's, the coffee shop in Flint</li>
<li>Start writing the book I would want to read</li>
<li>Drink tea more often</li>
<li>Have tea with someone- proper tea party either at home or Sweet Thymes in Hartland</li>
<li>Go to a midnight premiere! (I'm thinking the last Hobbit installation hehe)</li>
<li>Get a tattoo</li>
<li>Get more piercings (cardilage, nose, third piercing?)</li>
<li>Find a nice pair of leather riding boots</li>
<li>Make bread</li>
<li>Cook 1 meal every week</li>
<li>Make ice cream</li>
<li>Road trip (would love to go to Kentucky to my relatives or my best friend's, Sarah's, house)</li>
<li>Learn some of my favorite songs on the piano:</li>
<ul>
<li>Dawn from Pride and Prejudice</li>
<li>Hedwig's Theme</li>
<li>Downton Abbey- The Suite</li>
<li>Colors of the Wind</li>
</ul>
</ol>
Evidently, reading is heavily featured here. I've realized I have read very few of the classics I own, and since working at the local library, I have begun to discover the gems in non-fiction. Number 16 on the list is crossed out because I just recently did it! I discovered that I own a lot of the classics I want to read. Therefore, I hope to move from collecting classics to reading them aggressively. :) At Liz's I found some great contemporary books: Water for Elephants, One Day, and The Notebook, to name a few.<br />
So far cooking one meal a week has gone down unsuccessfully, but I won't put too much pressure on myself. I still have eleven months left, and I likely won't finish everything on this list. Nonetheless, this being the last day of January has made me realize I have very little time left until I turn eighteen. It's been my goal to read all of Jane Austen's novels and Little Woman before I become an adult. I have less than 4 months! Yikes! Right now I'm reading Emma and Les Miserables (oh my goodness, amazing!)<br />
And that's it! 30 Fun Goals for this year. I look forward to the rest of the year so much. :)<br />
<div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-37660078181980305942014-02-03T20:22:00.003-08:002014-02-03T20:23:46.854-08:00Harry Potter Read -A-Thon I found out today at roughly 10:40 pm that there's a group on Goodreads called <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/123987-ayearathon" target="_blank">#AYEARATHON</a> which will be having week long marathons the first Monday through Sunday week of every month this year. And the first read a thon is Feb 3-10 with the theme of... HARRY POTTER! I really wished I had found out about this earlier because I would have arranged my schedule and life around reading the entire HP series in one week (I think I could do it, but not sure). As the matter goes, that ain't gunna happen. Therefore, I will merely pick up the series where I was last rereading it at HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. What's extraordinarily funny is that before I even knew about this, I actually started at midnight last night Quidditch Through the Ages which is fantastic that I get to count it. :)<br />
But the theme isn't just Harry Potter. It's Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling in case you want to read one of her other works. For me, though, I'm going to take this a little more obscure. You see, for me, all growing up Harry Potter meant J.K. Rowling, and J.K. Rowling meant her favorite book was Emma. She's said so many times that she drew so many examples from Emma by Jane Austen for the HP stories. I've always loved Jane Austen, but I've only read <em>Pride and Prejudice</em> and <em>Sense and Sensibility. </em>This last January I started Emma to accomplish two goals: one, read all Jane Austin's books before I turn 18 so as to quench my thirst of Jane Austen and gain rights to be a true Austinite and two, to peek into the world of J.K. Rowling and see a major component to her genius behind the Harry Potter books. Therefore I think it's reasonable enough to include finishing Emma in this week's Harry Potter marathon.<br />
I also plan on reading two of the Harry Potter books in the series and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I would strive for more, but unfortunately, I have a lot planned for this week. So the total reading for Day1 is this:<br />
<ul>
<li>Quidditch Through the Ages</li>
<li>30 pgs of Emma</li>
</ul>
I read a lot today, but the above two are not part of that. Today I read 50 pgs or so of Les Miserables before getting stuck on an incredibly boring part about Napolean and some battle in a place I've only vaguely heard of. The realization that the history lesson was the entire first book of the second volume, made me just shut the book and move on to Emma. haha- even I get intimidated sometimes from classics.<br />
<br />
<br />
-Until next time (hopefully tomorrow with an update on Harry Potter marathon!) :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-64180862807250925482014-01-30T08:30:00.000-08:002014-02-05T09:00:14.927-08:00Listography I love lists. I mean absolutely love making lists! If you've seen much on my blog, you'll know that I attempted (and still am attempting) to make a list of 1000 things I'm thankful for on a day to day basis, the little things I notice every day. It's the little things I love to be thankful for, because they always add up and they keep me focused on God throughout the day. :) So today when I was at Goodwill, I noticed a small little book called Music Listography: Your Life in (Play) Lists, and my heart fluttered a little. The event was maximized by the fact that my mom had just left me at Goodwill alone so she could go home and turn the oven off which she had forgotten about (my oh my!). <br />
So there I was, all alone, a grown up girl shopping at Goodwill, and suddenly, a little treasure is seen tossed into a box with Christmas gift bags. It's part of a journaling series involving writing lots of lists, which I mentioned I love, right? ;) I quickly snatched it up, hardly believing my eyes. The unbelievable part was that it was brand new- absolutely no marks in the baby. I continued around the store, eventually finding an adorable tea pot candle holder and a little box featuring ladies and gentleman out on a lawn wearing wonderful hoopskirt gowns and suits. These last two items are part of a bit of myself I lost back in Austen land.<br />
But the adventure wasn't over yet. Oh no, it had hardly yet begun! Upon looking once more, hopelessly at the book section in our Goodwill, which any citizen around here will tell you is lacking good books, I found, believe it or not, another Listography book unscathed! This time I barely sighted it as it's shy, bland spine was hidden amongst all the large magazines. It was Listography: Your Life in Lists. Basic but still thrilling to me. Upon walking back to my mom, elated with the day's discoveries, I eventually, somehow, made my way back to the pitiful book section of our Goodwill and... found another Listography book sitting face up on the middle shelf! This was the prize and glory of all the ones I had found thus far. It was My Future Listography: All I Hope To Do In Lists. The reason this particular one is my favorite comes from the joy I have in writing out ideas for the future in the format of our beloved lists. It seems it was meant to be. Of course whenever I find a great part of a series, I always wonder if I missed the rest, but in this case I don't think I did.<br />
It is quite exciting, and I can't wait to start writing some lists. I have a list from each journal that I have marked top priority, kind of: Top Soundtracks (Music), Things I Want to be Knowledgeable About (Future), and Professions I Would Love to Try Out (Life). I'm really into activity kind of books right now, for teens and adults. This Christmas I'm asking for a lot of Kerri Smith books. Remember Wreck This Book, Explore the World, ect.? Those are the ones. They look like loads of fun for whenever I get bored to just kind of pick one and go with it. Tell me if you know of any other fun activity books! I would love to hear of some more!<br />
Some last few notes. I discovered 52 Lists earlier this year and forgot to keep printing them out. I plan on doing some sort of project with those as well, only I need to keep them in a binder seeing as the ones I do have are all wrinkly now. :( Another quick note: my mom actually ended up telling me she had bought me one of the Listography books from Goodwill for Christmas. Turns out there were duplicates. I felt so bad, but at the same time it felt like Christmas early. I felt so loved from my mother who had known just the sort of thing I would like. Suddenly the list books I own feel like a heart felt gift. I could see she had been so excited about giving it to me, and then here I pick out the same ones when the two of us go shopping. So sad, and yet so thrilling to know she was thinking of me and knew me so well and loves me. It wasn't the gift that mattered, it was the heart, and getting just the heart and not really the gift made it so much more pleasant and enjoyable. :) My heart flutters with joy every time I think that she knew I would want these. <br />
Perhaps next post I will post my Christmas list, which is almost entirely books. ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-9805430802665589812014-01-10T10:08:00.000-08:002014-01-10T10:09:20.805-08:00I Should do this... but I Want to Do...Balancing the Two?!?!?!<div style="text-align: left;">
Goals for 2014 to do a bit of everything</div>
<div align="center">
++++++++++</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I feel like I've been missing out on life lately. I've missed doing fun little things that I really enjoy. I haven't been listening to the music I really like. I haven't been reading YA romances. I haven't been spinning in circles, laughing. All my life has been lately is very serious stuff. My focus has been feeling guilty about not getting much homework done, doing my best at work, and feeling guilty about not reading enough classics. I guess I'm tired of feeling guilty about things that are fun and not bad when I should just enjoy them; laugh with the earth, dream, dance, dwell on pleasant things. Everything that I should be doing I fool myself into thinking I really want to. And I guess in a way I do. I <em>want</em> to read more classics. I <em>want</em> to listen to classical music (I really do like it). I want to do <em>really</em> <em>well</em> at work and constantly be working hard and getting lots done. After all I would love for the library to be clean and organized. I want to eat <em>healthy</em> because I like fruits and veggies. I want to do my homework because I <em>like</em> learning.</div>
But I also want to listen to Katy Perry, Lyric Everly, Jenny and Tyler, The Vespers, and Disney songs. I want to wear dresses more often. I want to dream of pretty little things: cute tea cups, flower fields, and a good book. I want to go back to my love of bohemian style.<br />
Basically my life isn't very well balanced with things I want to do and things I need to do. So here are some simply written goals for 2014:<br />
<ol>
<li>Wake up earlier</li>
<li>Listen to fun music more often</li>
<li>Do more homework</li>
<li>Read more good books: a mix of classics and YA</li>
<li>Do my devotions each morning or night</li>
<li>Drink more tea</li>
<li>Write in my journal more often- this is a big one</li>
<li>Attempt to write more blog posts (:P haha)</li>
<li>Evaluate when I really need to be on the internet and when I could be doing something better, but yes, let myself go on the computer a little bit each day.</li>
<li>Print out more pictures and things I find from the internet and build an inspiration collage on my wall</li>
</ol>
Then there are a few things I really want to do soon to feel more at home in the kind of room I want to live in:<br />
<ul>
<li>Paint my room. What color should I paint it?</li>
<li>Completely organize my closet</li>
<li>Draw with the new media I just got for Christmas</li>
</ul>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-62108629912181231732013-12-12T19:32:00.005-08:002014-02-05T09:00:33.737-08:00My Favorite Music Lately I like to say that I like pretty much every genre. Seriously. One minute I can be listening to Christian rap the next classical music and then on to country. It really depends on my mood. I have listened to the Christian songs I grew up on, hymns, folk, indie, rock (very little of that), and many other types of music. However, in these past few months as I've made more and more finds of absolutely favorite artists, the music I listen to falls into only a few genres. While I still like most genres, I don't listen to all of them anymore, only occasionally touching in on something like country.<br />
Lately the music I listen to falls into groups of people/ a genre. The group of people I listen to the most is Jenny and Tyler, The Vespers, and Lyric Everly (if you're not counting my obscure amount of hours racked up by listening to Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit soundtrack in the background of sleeping and school haha). In the category of Jenny and Tyler and The Vespers, I'm still trying to find artists I like. Other "categories" I listen to:<br />
<ul>
<li>Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, Christina Perri</li>
<li>The Piano Guys and 2Cellos</li>
<li>Lord of the Rings Soundtrack (far too much than is healthy haha), The Hobbit soundtrack, Enya</li>
<li>Classical music</li>
<li>Taylor Swift- I'm falling back in love with her music. :)</li>
<li>And of course I listen to Jenny and Tyler, The Vespers, and Lyric Everly- a lot.</li>
<li>Oh, and I discovered Steam Punk Giraffe, which is really good. I was bummed to miss their concert in Michigan.</li>
</ul>
If you have any other suggestions for music you think I'd like, let me know! :D Maybe someday I'll share some of my favorite music in lists. Just recently picked up some fun list journals, but sh.. more about that this weekend. ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-85840040031338278992013-12-04T10:05:00.001-08:002014-02-05T08:59:47.612-08:00Living the Dreamy Life A year ago all I wanted was the awesome lifestyle of the artsy people. You know, the one where people listen to indie music, make some of their own, make art all day, and drink lots of coffee/tea. Maybe write some poetry, go to lots of concerts, and wear bohemian style clothes. Some things, like tea, I drank because I wanted that crazy eclectic lifestyle. Although, I must say tea was always in our house for when we were sick, but I have been drinking more often because I actually love some kinds of it. There's just something about drinking a cup of tea in the morning or when it's really cold that makes the day oh so much more romantic. So, drinking tea is something I actually like. As is indie music, but that's another story for another day.<br />
This past year has been a huge growing year of becoming myself and living a lifestyle that is <em>amazing</em>. I don't want to live a fun, eclectic lifestyle just to be different. I just want to be me without thinking of how others want me to be me, if that makes sense. I've noticed over the past few years that it isn't doing the things that makes life so dreamy. One can pass through life and not <em>notice </em>how amazing it is that we get to do things like drink tea while snuggled in a pile of blankets. ;) It's noticing those things and being thankful that brings the real joy. I've realized that though I've sought after all my life to live that dreamy life, I have one right here, right now!<br />
We just recently moved to a new house, and all those rooms I would dream of romantically are here in this house! We have a lovely cedar sunroom that is just a touch too cold right now, though I look forward to sitting in it lots come spring. As I wait for spring, I'm trying to use the sunroom as often as possible. I had devotions out there the other day when it wasn't quite that cold, and it was so quiet, set apart from the rest of the house. The sunroom is quite large (300sq ft!) with lots of light. :) It's exactly what I've dreamt of all my life.<br />
A fireplace room also adorns our house. It's so cozy down there, though the fireplace is gas so not much heat is given off. :( We could switch it to the original wood fireplace, if we wanted to, and my parents have talked about doing that. We also have a formal dining room. And I have my own room again! It's quite large, with a very big closet that stretches across an entire wall. The exciting thing is that I can have all my books in one room. All of them on display across one big wall. (sigh with happiness). So now I have the sunroom I always dreamed about doing devotions in while sipping tea, and a fireplace to read books by in the winter. Our piano is going to be tuned, and Christmas is coming up! :D<br />
A few months ago, I certainly felt like I was living the dreamy life, with the music I was listening to, and the art I was making. But I realize that even now I have so much to be thankful for! And I am indeed living a rather dreamy life. Homework has been going splendidly. Each night I get to curl up and read a bit more of the Inferno by Dante. I've been reading far more classics (says the girl that just took a few weeks break from them to read a bunch of YA romancs :P haha). In all honesty, I'm very excited for the coming months. My biggest focus is my school work, but I also just recently won NaNoWriMo (!!!!!!!!!!!), which I will talk about some other time. :) My job has been going splendidly. I'm slowly getting back into wearing dresses and skirts more often (I took a break from those as well, wearing jeans all the time :P). I have been building new friendships, and spending more time with the ones that matter.<br />
I took a few short months break from everything I really love (the music, thanking God for everything :(, wearing loads of skirts, doing lots of homework, reading good books, ect.), and <strike>became incredibly lazy</strike> just relaxed. It was nice, but now I'm ready to attack everything with far more vigor. It is much more exciting and enjoyable to be living with the mindset of thanking God for everything. Therefore, I will be continuing my forgotten list of One Thousand Gifts. I won't put them up here but do know that I am in the 800s, hence why I won't attempt catching up for the world (or my nonexistent readers haha). <br />
The biggest thing I've learned this year is that living a dreamy life isn't about doing all those things that are considered dreamy or romantic, but it's how we view life. We are so blessed, and if we only train our mind to look at life that way, then we would be rather happy. Of course, I slip up all the time and don't live according to how I know I will be happiest. Meaning I don't always live entirely for God, and as a result, when I'm not, I'm in a rather sour mood. <br />
<br />
So over all it isn't doing things differently, it's just the way you paint the picture, just the way you view it. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-2777659403663765752013-05-16T19:52:00.000-07:002013-05-16T20:10:12.404-07:00An Update on Life: Softball, First Day of Work, and Books Well, I obviously haven't written on this blog in a while, and last I did I was terribly behind in sharing my list of one thousand things I'm thankful for. So, I'm attacking this from a different way. <br />
Life's been pretty busy lately with work (finally begun!), school (terribly behind), softball (undefeated so far!), and life in general. Most days I wake up running and go to bed as soon as possible- which doesn't leave much time to write a blog post. Since I still want to share all the days I've written out the gifts God has given me, I will be posting them as often as I can. I often get spurts of inspiration to write up tons of post and post them in a day. Instead, I'll write up all those post and post one each day until the next inspiration hits. There will still be days where nothing goes up since I tend to have a sporadic schedule. I think for now I just need to focus on some other things before I can commit to a schedule with posting. I know I also need to give myself the freedom to post whatever I want to- even if I'm behind in sharing my list. In this way I hope to give you a bit more than a ton of posts one day and then none the next two weeks haha.<br />
As for a more thorough update on life: I just had my official first day of work a week ago and really enjoyed it! I love my boss! She's totally awesome and quite funny as she's a rule breaker. :o haha Plus, she likes Enya. Bonus points right there! :) Right now my room is quite a mess, as usual, but I'm trying to clean it up. Read: I need to do loads and loads of laundry. And I need to sort through papers- it's crazy how many I collect. As for school, I'm behind, but finishing things up. I hope to be done with two classes in a few weeks. I don't know how I'm going to finish lit class anytime soon. :P Another thing going on is that funding for my missions trip is rolling in. I'm so thankful to everyone that has sent money so far!!! And I ask that everyone keep praying that God continues to work in me. I've been slacking on devotions and need to pick that up pronto.<br />
Lately I've been missing my friend Jess W. and have felt the desperate need to get together with her to just chat. It's sad that she's in college group and I'm not. :( We definitely have to work harder on getting together to catch up. Thankfully, I have the opportunity to do so tomorrow for 8 hours. Yah! I want to catch up so bad that I'm going to miss the youth group event of going to Comedy for a Cause and instead go with her when we drop our siblings off and pick them up.<br />
Softball: we are undefeated still! Last Monday we had a practice and that finally got me back in the swing of things. I was feeling so off when batting up until that night when I finally got it again. Tonight I hit every hit real good. :) And I made it to first and beyond. I don't think I got out at all! Yahoo! So softball's going quite well, though I can feel that my running isn't as good as last year's since I'm more out of shape. :P<br />
I believe the last thing I would like to say is that I finally got my books for Battle of the Books, and I already finished one: <em>Seabiscuit. </em>It was quite good. The cool part was feeling the exhilaration of horse racing, which I know I could never do since I'm not anywhere near small enough to be a jockey- too tall. This book was one of the first to really make me identify with the quote that says something along the lines of readers can live a thousand lives. I feel as though I really lived the life of a jockey though I didn't. Perhaps the reason I identified with that quote only now was because I actually knew the quote. But I must say that the book by Laura Hillenbrand was worth the read despite the few shocking parts (all pretty much contained in one chapter that mentioned a building of prostitutes but thankfully didn't go into any sensual details).<br />
And since I don't want to end on that note I'll mention that the next book I have my eyes on is <em>Grace for the Good Girl. </em>I finished <em>One Thousand Gifts, </em>and I'm thinking about doing a book review. I'm also really excited about the A Beautiful Mess app, which I really want to get! One last "event" is that I finally picked my guitar back up after months of not playing. I was pleased to find I could play most chords, transition well enough, and could even play some chords that I had found difficult before. I also just looked up how to transpose, and I finally got it! Well, until next time! Ta ta for now!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-63707073482654747362013-05-06T14:40:00.000-07:002013-05-06T14:40:03.836-07:00Yummy Fruit, A Car Full of Family, and Spending Time Reflecting on Life This morning began wonderfully with my mother making French toast for me. I had to go to the library to shadow Meri and rushed down there with only ten minutes to get there. During my walk, my shoe came untied and begged me to retie it. So on the cracked and familiar sidewalk by the slow moving river I bent to tie the silly little shoe. While kneeling there, I heard, as though for the first time, the sounds of the birds: the duck quaking and the robin singing. I heard the water slowly passing on by. And it was beautiful. Sometimes when I get so caught up in life I forget to experience the beauty of God's creation. It's something I need to work on. Just listening.<br />
I also wanted to note on is the section that I wrote, "A car full of family". To that part I want to say that at that time I was not happy to be in a small car full of kids all talking and arguing about where to go out to eat (a special treat from Dad). I realized that this is family, and big families bicker and argue but we all love each other. The small arguments will pass over and calmness will prevail. Soon afterwards we all easily decided where to go to eat. <br />
This being written a few weeks after I don't remember where we went, but now I remember something Ann Voskamp said in her book. She said that the thanks always precedes the miracle. I suppose that happened in the car in a way. I became thankful for that car full of family rather than bitter about it, and suddenly we could easily and peacefully decide where to go to eat. Not particularly what I would call a miracle, but personally choosing not to argue brought a lot of peace.<br />
This day I also spent about an hour just reflecting on life and writing out my thoughts and emotions. It felt wonderful, and I plan on doing it more often.<br />
<br />
April 23, 2013<br />
292. The smell of French toast<br />
293. Getting things done<br />
294. Obedience. I'm thankful for that feeling when you choose to just obey.<br />
295. Good weather for walking<br />
296. Messenger bags, great for walking<br />
297. Green melon (honey dew melon)<br />
298. Really good strawberries, the ones that out taste all the rest :)<br />
299. Hummus- so good!<br />
300. Blackberries oh so yummy!<br />
301. Reflecting on life. Just writing out my emotions and what I'm thinking.<br />
302. Clouds reflecting in the sideview mirror<br />
303. Another dentist appointment to tell me I have really good hygiene. I was just disappointed that this year wasn't so perfect as others. Apparently I really need to floss every day. My gums are starting to feel the effect of hardly any flossing in 17 years. (yikes!)<br />
304. Sharing a good book title with a worker in the dentist office (she saw the book one thousand gifts and seemed interested in it!)<br />
305. Having to stop to tie my shoe. It made me hear the beautiful nature sounds that I was missing as I rushed to the library. The beautiful sound of water and ducks and robins made me stop for a moment and praise God for His creation :) Sadly, I couldn't enjoy it long since I really did need to get to the library quickly!<br />
306. A car full of family :)<br />
307. Big, heavy raindrops on our roofAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-7413405745925793682013-04-29T11:12:00.000-07:002013-04-29T11:13:01.103-07:00Memories of Disney, Burnt Pizza Bagel Bites, and Sisters Who Thankfully Don't Complain Well, this day went by without much happening. I didn't record a list of what I was thankful for throughout the day, or better worded I just didn't find much. The day wasn't a bad day, but rather it was just one of the many good days that fill in between the really good days and the bad days. I did reflect a lot on Disney since I found a post about character interaction. :) The only true event of the day was when I was babysitting my sisters and burnt dinner. I was just thankful they didn't complain about it. haha :)<br />
<br />
April 22, 2013<br />
287. Seeing a bird get a worm (the bird was a robin)<br />
288. Memories of Disney :D Just remembered being in Epcot and seeing Jasmine and Aladdin leave their meet and greet to go on break. We were in the market center and the two ran and skipped through there holding hands. They climbed over the fountain and laughed and smiled and seemed totally in love. It transformed the whole minitown to seem like we were really in the movie. It's one of my sweetest memories. :)<br />
289. More memories of Disney- holding Prince Erik's arm for a photo (he offered it to me hehe) :) and Flynn Rider winking at me as he passed in the parade! Yep, those two are the hottest princes. haha!<br />
290. Burnt pizza bagels<br />
291. Not complaining sistersAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-32928383283161785172013-04-29T10:57:00.002-07:002013-04-29T11:03:02.847-07:00Warm Sunlight, Joyful Children, and Fun Times With Friends<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<br /></div>
This Sunday began with really enjoying the morning sunlight as I ate breakfast. Amidst all the turmoil of getting the family ready for church, I stopped and closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my eyelids. It's a beautiful feeling that I can't help but be thankful for every time. The rest of the morning went by smoothly as we all got ready for church. Today during church time I was filling in for Mrs. Richardson in the toddler room. I love the little kids. :) They are so cute! Time in the toddler room went well. Jess H. and I were the only people in there. I enjoyed working with her, of course. ;)<br />
When we got home, we did something we rarely do: we watched TV. Shocker, right! My family sat down and watched some dirt bike racing. :) Right after that I watched bull riding. Oh my goodness I love it! One of my favorite memories was a visit to Murray, Kentucky where a number of our relatives live. While down there we went to the town rodeo. Lots of cowboys, cute guys, and plenty of excitement from the bull riding. I must add that it was rather scary that someone had to be taken to the hospital for a neck or back injury (he went flying up in the air before coming straight down, hard). Other than that moment, the night was spectacular, and I would love to go again! <br />
Besides watching some cowboys compete against the bulls, I also laid down to take a nap. However, I decided I could be doing something far more productive than nap (despite being extraordinarily tired). I think that is a great mentality to have all the time and hope to keep it in mind whenever I feel like being lazy. So up I got and did various things like school work and stuff for the missions trip meeting for that night.<br />
There were many fun memories made this night at the meeting, but I've written about them in my list of thanksgiving. Therefore, I'll let you read them there. :)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://distilleryimage5.s3.amazonaws.com/b6c2526eaac811e292b622000a1fb73b_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="addthis_shareable thumbnail" height="200" id="main-photo" src="http://distilleryimage5.s3.amazonaws.com/b6c2526eaac811e292b622000a1fb73b_7.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://distilleryimage8.s3.amazonaws.com/142c9838aac911e283f722000a1fbd91_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="addthis_shareable thumbnail" height="200" id="main-photo" src="http://distilleryimage8.s3.amazonaws.com/142c9838aac911e283f722000a1fbd91_7.jpg" width="200" /></a>April 21, 2013<br />
271. The sun glistening off the water<br />
272. Warm sunlight on my eyelids<br />
273. Frozen puddles in the backyard, sunlight sending thousands of glittering reflections of light<br />
274. I don't have to dress up today since I'm in toddlers/nursery (thankful 'cause I haven't shaved!)<br />
275. Little boy saying "Woo-hoo!" to the news his parents will be here soon<br />
276. Little girls with long, beautiful blonde hair<br />
277. Watching dirt bike racing with my family (on tv)<br />
278. Bull riding- it's awesome<br />
279. Cowboys haha oh yes<br />
280. Chocolate chip cookies made by Kaity :)<br />
281. Choosing to get up and do something rather than take a nap (Defeating laziness!)<br />
282. The internet is funky sometimes and won't load instructional work out videos (because I'm still lazy haha)<br />
283. Finding 52 Lists challenge. I'm 15 weeks behind, but these look really fun to do. :)<br />
284. Jess H. and I got the highest scores for memorizing verses. Jay then said, "10 points for Gryffindor!" Jess and I replied in sync, "Ravenclaw!" It was so awesome!<br />
285. Acting totally mature with Tori JK! We are so immature sometimes haha<br />
286. Tori and I scattering each other's prayer cards so that we can get the spot we want for ourselves. And stealing the other person's. It was all very funny. We were <u>so</u> mature. lol NOT! But it was fun :)<br />
<div align="center">
***********************</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I notice I am incredibly behind, but I'm trying to catch up :) Funny story about looking back at this day as I wrote it in my journal. I numbered 284 as 214 and proceeded to write 215, 216,a nd so on until 330. Today I caught the mistake and renumbered them all. Number 300, or more correctly 370, is about reaching 300 things I'm thankful for. It's quite funny. But alas, I'm not quite there in sharing with you all. We'll get there sometime ;)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-66654212985261447492013-04-23T19:56:00.001-07:002013-04-27T19:13:56.952-07:00I'm a Ravenclaw!, Chatting With Sisters, and Cold, Beautiful Bike Rides Well, this was a day of me looking up a whole bunch of stuff dealing with Ravenclaws. Yep, the Harry Potter house for intellectuals, aka nerds. I pride myself in being a Ravenclaw. No, I'm not always the smartest person. Honestly, I'm more book smart than street smart though. The big reason that screams "Ravenclaw!" is that I love to learn. Seriously, I get thrills from it. Just talking about science makes my blood tingle. And my normal go to activities involve reading books, looking up literary techniques, and reading encyclopedias or dictionaries (yes I have done both, though not all the way through or very often). Occasionally I'll watch a TV series like Merlin or Sherlock. Ok, those are the only TV series I've seen. Yep. I do watch movies with my family, but I don't watch TV. Ever really. The previously mentioned TV series I borrowed DVDs or hunted them down on youtube when they were up (Merlin has since been taken down).<br />
I love history and English literature. I hate math, but to compensate for that downfall I should let you know that it is my goal to learn to enjoy math while I am homeschooled. So yes, I am a nerd. Even amongst the nerds of a school, I am a nerd. Before leaving the public school systems, everyone figured I would be their Val Victorian. At the time, that was the last thing I wanted because you have to make a speech. Since then, I have given my first speech... to four hundred people. Yah, crazy! I enjoyed it though and didn't get nervous at all. Funny. <br />
Anyways, the point is that though I may not have all the terms memorized of things or the biggest vocabulary (note the usage of the word things haha), I am a Ravenclaw. Or a Gryffindor. But that's a really long story with a lot of reasons behind it. Just know that if I wasn't placed in Ravenclaw, I'd be in Gryffindor. To give you an idea of a bit of me, my sister says I'm a mixture of Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger. Not a part and part but whole and whole mixture.<br />
Besides my Ravenclaw obsession today, my sisters each ended up in my room at some point and one on one we talked about really random things. Then later in the evening, we all went to McDonalds for ice cream, despite it being freezing cold (we wore gloves and scarves!). The bike ride was beautiful, and I do believe the cold heightened the beauty of the outdoors. :)<br />
<br />
April 20, 2013<br />
240. Snow on the ground and all water frozen<br />
241. French toast and Greek yogurt flavored with honey and strawberry<br />
242. Laundry<br />
243. After most snow has melted, the grass lays green as ever, robins hop around in the backyard, and glistening white snow hugs the tree bases and fence sides.<br />
244. Eating cinnamon tortillas with my family<br />
245. Knowing I'm a Ravenclaw, but if I had to be placed somewhere else it would be Gryffindor.<br />
246. My scores for each house are as follows:<br />
Ravenclaw- 92<br />
Gryffindor- 85<br />
Hufflepuff- 74<br />
Slytherin- 57<br />
247. Being an extrovert and introvert<br />
248. Harry Potter's influence on culture (the positive influences)<br />
249. I enjoy history :)<br />
250. Routine homework assignments: classes I always know what is expected of me<br />
251. Science textbooks to cuddle up with and study for upcoming tests :) (and yes, this has been a very long ongoing joy of mine. I like to say it's the biggest proof of being a Ravenclaw)<br />
252. Chores like doing the dishes and laundry<br />
253. A sister that wants to help me with chores (Carris)<br />
254. My younger sister, Carris, wearing a pretty, white, and flowy blouse<br />
255. Kaitlyn coming to give me a hug<br />
256. Kaity lying on my bed, chatting with me<br />
257. Spinning the globe to see where we would live (Kaity and me)<br />
258. Question game with Kaity in what we want to do in the future<br />
259. The biggest $1 ice cream cone. It was easily 6 inches! My sister, my quirky little sister, Carris, ordered this at McDonalds. haha<br />
260. Outdoor smell of leaves burning in the cold air<br />
261. Frequent snow drifting in the air<br />
262. Living in a world with alien-like beauty<br />
263. Wearing my USA scarf<br />
264. Church bells ringing<br />
265. Cold, cold bike rides<br />
266. Rosy red cheeks<br />
267. The bright white moon high in the air against a brilliant blue sky<br />
268. The colorful sunset: a bright orange and dark purple<br />
269. Carris wanting to borrow my cassette tape iPod touch case. She is so hipster! haha<br />
270. Finding part two of Urban Renewal in the newspaper (it's a series about what Fenton used to be and how it was destroyed and what it will be)<br />
<div align="center">
*********************</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I seem to have forgotten to include something in this list. During our bike ride, I was riding along and bang a few feet to my right a rabbit began hopping away. It nearly gave me a heart attack suddenly seeing a flash of fur. Carris and I laughed long and hard about it. :) It's a great memory now, but I guess it won't be in my little journal. :( Maybe I'll add it later as forgotten thanksgivings, the ones I didn't write down but meant to (there are a lot more, though not as cool as this one).</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-79743819948596075352013-04-23T19:19:00.001-07:002013-04-23T19:20:03.546-07:00Recognizing What I Have, Living Healthy, and One Great Big Happy Family The day before this was awful, but this day was wonderfully light and happy. I wrote basically all I would write here in the list. I'll let the list talk for what happened in the day and an update on how making a list of a thousand gifts is impacting me. :)<br />
<br />
April 19, 2013<br />
223. Delicious, full breakfast :) (eggs, bacon, and pear)<br />
224. Running the whole distance. True, it was just one street, but there were many times I felt like quitting and didn't. It's just the first day of working out/ running.<br />
225. Healthy, delicious lunch<br />
226. Wearing a new, pretty dress I haven't worn before<br />
227. True Star health- a really good, free program!<br />
228. Clean shaven legs rubbing together<br />
229. Searching all over the kitchen for the little popcorn bowls (which were hidden across three different areas!) :)<br />
230. Singing Mary Poppins songs with Kaity<br />
231. Laughing at the scare I had walking into my room to find Dad in there talking on his phone (I might have screamed haha)<br />
232. Berry smoothies<br />
233. Hugging Carris and her hugging me :)<br />
234. Comfy clothes<br />
235. Soft hugs (with Mama)<br />
236. Cracking ice as it hits cold water<br />
237. Memories of when I was a little girl and Dad and I would compete with who loves who more. It always began with "I love you to the moon and back" and then "the sun and back" "the stars and back" and "this much!" (with my arms held out wide as could be. My dad would then put his hands back to back and say it was infinity. "I love you more than infinity." My brother and I both would participate in this. Oh how I love my dad! and childhood memories :)<br />
238. Realizing through this journal that life is so full of happy little memories. All the things I dream of having: a quaint lifestyle, quirky and fun things I do- I have that, it's just a matter of seeing it and embracing it as my life. It's the bike rides to McDonalds for ice cream, the walks to the park, the shrieking of laughter on the tire swing with one of my best friends. It's singing songs with my siblings, hugs, purposefully working on building good relationships. Oh, yes, I have indeed acquired that life I dream of when I think of a good book and a cup of tea. I have only to find joy in each moment by being thankful. I will (and have) have my mess ups, but all the other moments in between are wonderful. (even if I don't drink as much tea as I would like to ;)<br />
239. Stealing m&ms to eat with popcorn during a movie (we watched Mirror Mirror as a family)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-13382411103226439442013-04-23T18:56:00.001-07:002013-04-23T18:56:27.860-07:00Oh Weather, More Groceries, and Dinner Out (Oh, and One Tiny Weensy Major Mess Up) The most exciting moment of today was taking a bike ride, and right when we got home, the hard winds started blowing. Seconds after I got up the stairs into my room the storm hit. Great gusts of wind sending the rain in crazy directions, whirling around in spirals all over the place. It was beautiful to view from my window, but I'm so glad we missed it in our bike ride, though rather narrowly! The rest of the day went well. My mom went grocery shopping and brought home all sorts of yummy, healthy foods. <br />
I also had a break through with my reluctance to help Kaity. Almost every time I'm asked to help Kaity I dread it a bit. Most of the time I never think of helping when not asked, but I have in the past a few times. Then there are times where I know someone needs to step in, and I don't want to be that person. Only thing is, sometimes I'm the only person that can step into the middle of a fight and start helping Kaity. It's hard, really, really hard, to get involved when I don't want to, when a fight is happening. Most of the times I ignore it, but this morning God kept saying "You are the only one that can help this right now, so get up and go do it. Building relationships is more important than an extra half hour of sleep." So what could I do but get up. <br />
I didn't want to. Oh no. I wanted to ignore it all and sleep. You see, I had no idea how in the world I would handle Kaity when she's screaming and mad and grumpy at everyone. I totally had to trust God that he would help me respond in a Christ-like manner. In the end, all smoothed over, though I did mess up a few times by yelling at my mom (I was upset that she was yelling, though that's no excuse. I felt awful about it after). <br />
Later that day, when the kids got home, things went downhill fast! My mom was at conferences, which meant we were in charge of Kaity. The quick version of the story is that Kaity didn't want to do her homework and no amount of coaxing or promises could get her to leave the TV. I quickly became frustrated and angry. I let it out, it all out. Oh it was so awful! I wondered where was that patience I had had earlier in the morning! I couldn't hold myself in. And then after I gave up on her, more correctly properly removed myself from the situation, I heard Carris back talk Mom (later when Mom had gotten home). All those times she's done it have upset me, and I let them build up and that day let it loose when Mom left. Arg, it was bad. <br />
When Mom came home she left the house with Kaity to have the girl work on her homework away from everyone else. After apologizing to Carris (I apologized to Kaity too), Dad took the four of us to dinner. That whole evening I just felt like killing whoever talked to me (yah, it was bad). Eventually I calmed down and enjoyed dinner a bit. :) Especially the display of my incredibly dorky dad. I think the part I was most upset about the day was that I couldn't control a situation, but I think I've learned to let go and let God control it. I can't do anymore than respond in a Christ-like way. I can't blow up like I did. I need to have patience and wait for the other person to calm down, and I need to just keep responding in love even when someone else is blowing up or seriously ticking me off. So today I learned there are times to get involved and times to stay out of it.<br />
<br />
April 18, 2013<br />
208. Just catching the warm, breezy weather before a storm, a really big storm<br />
209. Went for a bike ride in nice weather. I realized I better soak up all the good weather now before its blistering hot and over 100 degrees<br />
210. The sound of crazy strong wind blowing in a storm<br />
211. Being focused on homework<br />
212. Getting over the hatred of doing something and doing it because I know I need to. Once I do that I can attack the situation with the right attitude. It works miracles, seriously. Lately I have been slowly getting myself to help with Kaity even when I don't want to or more, when I'm not asked. This morning she and Mom were fighting about her getting ready. All I wanted to do was stay out of it, despite knowing I could be of assistance. When I did get my butt out of bed and help, everything instantly smoothed over and proceeded to finish up quickly. How is it that I'm good at something I hate doing? Lately, I've been learning to come with the right attitude and to <u>come</u>. The rest I leave up to God, and honestly, I need His help with the attitude too. haha I'm just so thankful to be doing/ behaving right in at least one relationship in my life all because I've taken to heart what God wants of me.<br />
213. Seeing the change (a positive one) in my relationship with Kaity.<br />
214. Celery with peanut butter<br />
215. Mom coming home with all sorts of yummy food (she got hummus and almonds and chai tea!)<br />
216. Really quick storms. One minute dark and strong winds, pounding rain, rolling thunder, and lightening: five (or ten) minutes later and there are bright skies, soaring birds, and light clouds, and no rain. so cool.<br />
217. Flickering lights due to storm (probably wires shaking)<br />
218. Cute pictures drawn by Carris<br />
219. Dinner at Pizza Hut with Dad, Kagen, and Carris<br />
220. Pizza Hut breadsticks in marinara sauce<br />
221. An embarrassingly dorky dad (haha)<br />
222. Diet PepsiAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-11747182937945893642013-04-23T17:37:00.004-07:002013-04-23T17:40:32.359-07:00Pleasant School Days<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<br />
A pleasant school day can just be a normal one with the window open and a walk. Seriously, that's all it takes to turn a normal day into a pleasant day. :) I love to hear the sounds of outdoors even more than music sometimes (though I do need me some classical music). Today wasn't much other than homework, a walk, and church. Yet, today was lovely. My mom and I went for a quick walk that left my muscles burning. I say it was quick because we walked fast to get all around town and back before having to pick Kaity up. It was crazy. haha. Funny quote by my mom, "Speed walk without looking like your speed walking." Oh it was great to get outside. It was a very windy, chilly day, but it was perfect. We also had youth group. It went well, as usual. During small groups we all split off in groups of 2-3 to pray, and I really liked that. :)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://distilleryimage2.s3.amazonaws.com/77a93d22a78511e2a7d422000a9e0846_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="addthis_shareable thumbnail" height="200" id="main-photo" src="http://distilleryimage2.s3.amazonaws.com/77a93d22a78511e2a7d422000a9e0846_7.jpg" width="200" /></a>April 17, 2013<br />
199. The sound of water rushing out of a gutter<br />
200. Bedroom windows cracked open to let in a small breeze<br />
201. Itchy sweaters<br />
202. Getting homework assignments back with 100% correct :)<br />
203. Muscles burning during a work out<br />
204. Kaity's hair flopping in the wind<br />
205. Little moles scattered on my arms<br />
206. The smell of strawberry-banana yogurt<br />
207. Praying in small groups of 2 or 3Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-81263018228626744072013-04-23T17:28:00.002-07:002013-04-23T17:38:19.342-07:00Family Walks to the Park and Shelving Books- Two Wonderful Things I love when the weather is perfect for a family walk. :) This day I didn't get a whole lot of homework done, but I did make it down to the library to shadow Meri for a few hours. I do believe I will love this job! I enjoyed putting the books back and checking them in. Someday I'll have the whole library memorized, but for now I've been running through a mental map of the library. It's pretty small so the biggest concern is where different types of books go. I've learned so much more about the library in one day than I found out in ten years! I can't wait to know where everything goes. :)<br />
The rest of the day consisted of a family walk to our wooden park. I got to watch the sunset (or at least the beginning of it) through the woods surrounding the park. It was absolutely beautiful! We played tag, went on the muddy tire swing, and I wrote down many small things I was thankful for. Bonus points for remembering to bring my journal! The only downside of the whole trip is that we didn't get to go on the boardwalk. I was really looking forward to the sound of the river rushing over rocks and trees. So before we left I ran down to the river and stood there for a second just listening to the beautiful sounds of nature. I'm sure if people were watching they would have thought me crazy to just stand there with a smile on my face listening. I had to run back in order to catch my family before they left!<br />
It was wonderful to have those few moments of just being alone with nature. I smile even now thinking about it (and it's been a week!). One thing I really need to do is just stop and listen every now and then. I forget how much it rejuvenates me. The only other thing I wanted to mention is that my relationship with Kaity has been budding lately. It's so great to feel a difference. The only change is me, and it's been wonderful seeing the results. :)<br />
<br />
April 16, 2013<br />
177. Shown around the library by Meri<br />
178. Beautiful green grass and blue skies<br />
179. Working with Kaity on her homework<br />
180. Sitting on the couch with Kagen and Kaitlyn. Three siblings all cozy together. :)<br />
181. Running out to meet Dad at his car<br />
182. "Storming" Dad's car. Kaity made a real good "attack" by jumping in the car and closing all the doors. ;)<br />
183. Walking home from the library all alone, just like it'll be with work<br />
184. Feeling a difference on my side of a sibling relationship as I try to respond better. It's going well. So far. :)<br />
185. Birds on a wire<br />
186. Three sisters on a tire swing, one brother pushing<br />
187. Tag with the whole family<br />
188. The sunset through a thickly wooded area, all the trees yet to grow their leaves<br />
189. A sister full of energy- Carris<br />
190. A daughter calling for her father to push her on the tire swing and he gladly comes and does it. (Kaity and Dad)<br />
191. A mother watching as her kids grow up to be 'too old' to play on the playscape<br />
192. Pink skies<br />
193. Window reflections of a family of six taking a walk<br />
194. A little sister really wanting to do safety patrol- Kaity<br />
195. Running to the river to hear its beautiful sounds before we had to leave the park<br />
196. Walking with my arm around my mom because she's cold :)<br />
197. Linking arms with Carris and Mom.<br />
198. The first flowers to bloom, dainty little purple flowers scattered in our front yard :)<br />
<div align="center">
******************************</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yes I realize I am a whole week behind! It is my goal to at least play catch up only every other day or three not seven. However, since this blog is mostly for my own use right now I will be posting all last seven days individually as planned. So sorry for inconvenience.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-74151411275576338292013-04-15T19:03:00.002-07:002013-04-23T17:07:00.352-07:00Perfect Spring Weather and Trips Around Town Today was wonderfully warm, though a bit windy. I managed to get out twice! My mom and I went for a long walk around town to stretch our legs, and later I went for a bike ride with my youngest sister and my dad. I also found out today my official start day for work. :) All in all it was a wonderful day, though I wish I could have gotten more schoolwork done. I really enjoyed this evening as I helped Kaity get all her homework done quickly before we went for a bike ride to McDonalds for ice cream. :) The weather was nearly perfect for such a cool dessert. The only down side of this evening was the spotting of the first mosquitos (the worst part of Michigan). :( We raced home and happily went to bed (there was only one little spout before bedtime). Other than that not much happened. I do, however, resolve to get a lot of schoolwork done tomorrow!<br />
<br />
April 15, 2013<br />
161. Finally finding out when I start work! It's coming up so soon!<br />
162. Walks on warm days<br />
163. A nice, strong breeze that's not quite cold but tugs at my hair. It feels good :)<br />
164. Clearing out my email box (yikes!)<br />
165. Bike rides on warm evenings in the spring<br />
166. Quick trips to McDonalds for ice cream<br />
167. Ice cream with my chatty sister, Kaity<br />
168. Kaitlyn finishing her homework with smiles all around<br />
169. Going to bed in shorts, finally!<br />
170. Seeing five cranes fly across the stormy sky while eating our ice cream as the first drops of rain drizzle down<br />
171. Passing messages with my sister via sticky notes on doors<br />
172. Seeing my sisters embrace lovingly (and dramatically) before they go to bed :)<br />
173. Really messy buns ;)<br />
174. A nearly clean room due to doing laundry<br />
175. A drying rack that we finally acquired, and I used it for the first time today :)<br />
176. A father that is strict and reminds me of his authority and my place to obey and honor him. He genuinely cares that I am doing the right thing. All of this I am reminded of when he came to me firmly saying that he might ground me if I can't be more responsible with my homework and that I need to send my letters out. At first I was upset. This was because I knew I was in the wrong and should be doing what he's commanding I do. Once he left I realized I should be thankful, no, I am genuinely thankful to have a dad like him, especially when he cracks down on me about responsibility. Tomorrow I will get lots of homework done!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-46332362188325635732013-04-15T18:50:00.003-07:002013-04-15T18:50:44.961-07:0070th Birthdays, A Great Church Family, and Beautiful Nights I have a really great church family. I know I've remarked how thankful I am to have a youth group focused on following God, but truly I must note that my whole church is really focused on Him. Speaking of my church, our senior pastor, Pastor Jack, just had his 70th birthday. And yes, we made a fairly big deal out of it. Everyone sang Happy Birthday, and they brought in a cake with candles on it. :) After church we all had chocolate cake, and let me tell you, that frosting was amazing! I might have had two pieces of cake. haha! We ended up standing around talking until well after 1pm: church ended at 12. When we finally left, my dad, Kagen, and I went to a Chinese buffet. That was possibly not so cool since I didn't feel like eating a lot. Even now my stomach twinges at the idea of so much food. Upon returning home I promptly went to my bed and napped for three or four hours. I got up and had dinner, and the night proceeded on. <br />
As night fell, I noticed quite unexpectedly the chirping of birds. Off I went to explore our backyard for the source of the sound. (I have been known to go in our backyard and just stand there smiling as I take in God's beautiful creation.) This particular night all was beautiful, albeit a bit chilly. The robins made all sorts of beautiful song as they chattered away. In the distance was the rumbling of a train on the railways and over the cold air came the loud, clear horn. Yes, it was a beautiful night, even without seeing the moon. I came in all smiles and read the newspaper, both sides up while lounging in a big comfy chair. I felt quite cool. All I was missing was a pipe. ;) Once I finally got to bed, I realized I hadn't written anything down I had been thankful for and quickly turned on my reading lamp in order to scratch down the pleasant list. Here it is: :)<br />
<br />
April 14, 2013<br />
151. A church that is really focused on God and following Him<br />
152. Being old enough to be invited to Ladies Events at church. I'm quite looking forward to an upcoming one :)<br />
153. Really good frosting<br />
154. Naps :)<br />
155. All the different notes a robin sings in his song in the evening. It was beautiful to step into the backyard into a world of song. I couldn't help but be drawn out there when I heard a few birds singing. Despite the cold and wind (bringing in a storm likely), the birds gave a wonderful concert that left me smiling<br />
156. Cold, windy nights bringing in a storm (likely)<br />
157. The distant sound of a train rattling on the railways as it makes its way to some far away place, blowing its horn loud and clear across the small town<br />
158. Reading the newspaper. Holding both sides up while sitting in a big, comfy chair is quite fun<br />
159. Pictures of old downtowns and town gatherings<br />
160. Clean, soft hairAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2308472358064533124.post-90709835314562386442013-04-15T18:29:00.001-07:002013-04-15T18:30:39.291-07:00Constant Changing Weather and Waiting Out the Storm Inside Others To See the Rainbow at the End Saturday had every kind of weather one can imagine. One minute it was chilly but nice, the next snowing (in April!), then it was warm and sunny with white fluffy clouds, and finally it turned dark and rain began again. Yah, that's Michigan for you. No two hours were the same when I looked outside. My mother even remarked that every time she and my sister, Kaity, came outside of a store, the weather was different. They were shopping all day at tons of stores: that's a lot of weather changes. Nonetheless, the events inside were fairly peaceful. We lounged around for the most part, watched a movie or two, snacked, and watched my brother and Dad play StarCraft. My dad's mom from Kentucky called, and let me tell you that Grandma Carol can talk for forever. :) It was nice hearing her voice again, though, and we chatted about numerous things. Other than that, the day was fairly boring. We did end the day with Oreos, and Oreos always make a day better. ;) They are especially wonderful when sharing them with one's youngest sister over fun little conversations. The moment was furthered rendered special since she had moments before been telling me to leave. I waited out her anger and what do you know, but she lightened up a bit and soon we were laughing and smiling. :)<br />
One of the biggest things I kept thinking about while writing this list of things I find to be thankful for each day is that I was hardly ever (read never) thankful when things were stirring in the Griffith household. In fact, I hated it when a fire started raging. My youngest sister is know to be a bit crabby sometimes and Saturday was no exception when she came back from shopping all day long. I kept searching for something to be thankful for so I wouldn't get really mad at her. I found that in between her grumps she was incredibly joyful, all smiles, and it was so sweet that I was able to focus on that. :) As for all the other things I found, here's the list for Saturday:<br />
<br />
April 13, 2013<br />
129. Long conversations with distant grandmothers<br />
130. Snow drifting and dancing in the air<br />
131. Bright blue patches of sky between dark rain clouds (or snow clouds, I guess)<br />
132. A world finally getting some color in it after days of dreary, rainy days. The colors: a fairly bright green of the recently watered grass, red of the robins searching for food, white of the snow, bright blue of the sky, dark grey of the snow clouds, and brown of the woods.<br />
133. The beautiful oddity of green grass of the Spring with bright white of dancing snowflakes.<br />
134. I suppose now I'm thankful for the week of rain God sent us; it livened everything up, bringing life. I just hope it doesn't rain as much anymore<br />
135. Bright outdoors<br />
136. Swooping birds<br />
137. Drifting clouds<br />
138. Strong winds that shake trees<br />
139. Beautiful poetry<br />
140. Quotes. Just came across this one:<br />
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"<br />
<div align="right">
by Mary Oliver </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
141. White puffy clouds against bright blue skies :)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
142. Writing with a pen. No, it's better called recording life with a pen. I'm recording my in the small things, in the events, in the people, in the feelings, in the everyday life through giving thanks and recording it in this journal. I'm thankful for writing with a pen. :)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
143. Seeing Kaity's happy little moments in between her grumpy ones. Even on evenings where she's being incredibly grumpy, verging on unbearable, she has moments of happiness.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
144. Fun, little conversations with Kaity over Oreos and milk</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
145. Carris' creature concoction with a bunny slipper, flowers, and who knows what else. (it was cute)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
146. Kaitlyn's pink rosy cheeks, just like a baby doll's.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
147. Mom combing my hair</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
148. For clear commandments in the Bible that relate to issues like homosexuality and abortion. Both are wrong according to the Bible and I will stand by God's Word.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
149. Penguin PJs ;)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
150. Cluttered desks</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15351890646515722828noreply@blogger.com0