Day{s} After

         Christmas Break is almost over. So's the year, for that matter. I hope everyone had as great a time as I did. Now, it's time to get back to business: I have lots of homework to finish, work and school starts back up in less than a week, and, pretty soon, life goes back to normal. Sometimes I wish I could just live in a perpetual Christmas break--bask in the light of our decorated tree all year round, listen to bubbly Christmas songs until my ears bleed, sleep in until ten every morning and then spend the entire day doing nothing but reading the deliciously wonderful books thoughtful friends and family members have dumped upon me in a cascade of ribbon and wrapping paper. It would be nice, in some ways. But, then again, in the two weeks I've had all to myself, what have I done besides the aforementioned activities? Not too much. No writing, no drawing, not a whole lot of reading. Those are things I can only seem to accomplish when life gets crazy; when I need an escape from the whirlwind of activities around me. When I'm left to my own devices with too much time on my hands, the only thing I do is sleep. Way to be a good steward of your time, me.

                                                     

That said, I really did enjoy Christmas this year. I felt that our day was balanced--tentatively, but rightly so--between family, food, gifts and a quiet, inward recognition of the Gift we have recieved. I was able to give away the gifts I'd bought for friends and family, and, I must say, I was really spoiled this year. My mom picked up the last book in the Auralia's Colors series--that was the one gift I was not expecting! I devoured it in two days and am still reeling from the confusing but satisfying conclusion to one of my favorite fantasy series. And--well, instead of me rambling on about all gifts my wonderful family & friends threw at me this year, why don't you just deduce from the picture?

       Ahaha. Yes. Believe it or not, I surprised myself and was actually thrilled about recieving Matthew Henry's commentary on the Bible. It's something I've been wanting for a while, though not something I think I'd ever buy for myself. All in all, I think the bag was my favorite gift. It's just... awesome. Although it doesn't hold as many books as I thought it would. Meh. Nuance.

      As if I hadn't already recieved enough, there's ONE last Christmas gift I have to tell you about (even though it's technically from me to me and I haven't given it to myself yet). Tomorrow, my mom and I are taking my sister and a few friends to see War Horse for her birthday.

     YEAH. How cool is that? Even though I have to pay my way, I'm pretty excited. I don't know whether or not I'd be more excited to see the play....

....where the actors actually ride on life-size puppets.

       Meh. I think the movie score by John Williams (yes, THAT John Williams) will make up for any absence of puppets.

      Lastly, I'm sure you noticed that I've resorted to editing my blog template once again! Let me know what you think--I believe it needs a splash of color to really look good.

     Wishing you and yours a happy New Year,



'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Christmas is pretty amazing. Today, it's electrified with an emphasis on presents, on food, on outward expressions of love as family members gather together for one day, exchange gifts, and then hardly see each other for a whole year. It's very interesting to see how people can take something originally understated and hardly acknowledged that first Christmas Night and decorate it and buy it and sell it and sing it until we hardly know what we're celebrating anymore.

Yesterday evening, I watched It's a Wonderful Life and cried my eyes out at the end. Today, we had dear friends over and opened our stockings and put our star on top of the Christmas tree. Tomorrow, we're going to put off opening gifts until Monday so that we can focus on preparing ourselves for worship. Then, after church, we're going to visit my grandmothers and have a delicious dinner with family. I love Christmas for all these things and more (even as I sit here watching It's a Wonderful Life for a second time). But I'm surprised at how warped the message of Christmas has become to the world.

We hear it again and again--"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...." But just stop right there. He gave His only Son. How did He do that? Jesus Christ became a man--a human being, like you, like me, a human being who faced temptation, pain, sorrow, fear and death. He should never have had to stoop to that measure--to become what He had created. But He did--He did it willingly. Why?

Well. There's me. And you. And others, too. Even though we had fallen from His favor and deserved only His displeasure, God had a plan for our salvation. We couldn't save ourselves, however hard we might try. He had to save us. And so that's exactly what happened on the first Christmas night about two thousand years ago. God became man. He was born of a virgin, born under the law. He became sin for us. In the end, He faced God's wrath so that we would not have to. And this is where it all began. It didn't begin with a fanfare of trumpets up and down the crowded streets of Bethlehem; it began with a choir of angels who were sent to shepherds, alone with their flocks on the outskirts of the town. It didn't begin in a palace or even a house; it began in a cave, in the presence of animals. And when the baby Jesus had finally entered His world, the only bed availible was a hastily prepared manger, much the the displeasure of several cows and sheep, I should think. He wasn't noticed that night; and when He was noticed later in life, it was only to be despised and rejected by men.

And yet He still came. Even to face ridicule, death, and the wrath of God the Father for the sins of the world.

That, my friends, is why we have Christmas today, 2,000 years later. Even after two thousand years, we are still trying to understand it.

And, frankly, I don't know if we ever will.

Merry Christmas, everyone. God Bless you tonight, tomorrow and in the coming year.

My Year {In Pictures}

Hey everyone. The year is almost at its end, and I was just looking through some pictures from 2011. It was a good year, to be sure; a lot of good things happened and my family has been blessed beyond measure. I decided to make a couple of picture mosaics, just to show you what the year has been like. The first one (right down there) is just a sort of summary of 2011 for me. It includes my trip to Louisiana for a wedding, most of my amazing summer (including my very first piece of corn on the cob in 2011!) and snippets of our trip to Maine.

Then I went a little further and made a picture mosaic of "36 Things I Loved This Year". That one needs a little explaining, so there's a list under it. If you dare to move forward, I commend you.

My Year {In Pictures}

36 Things I Loved This Year

       
Oh boy. Here we go: (from left-right)

1. I loved Maine. I loved the weather, the landscape, the fact that no one else was there AND sitting on top of a rock in the middle of the woods. Yes. Don't judge.

2. I loved East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It was a confusing but captivating story, skillfully written and masterfully handled. And I also loved the miniseries, which I watched before I read the book. Shaaame.

3. I LOVE HAVING A BLOG! It's such a privilege to be able to read all of your blogs and post little things for you to read.

4. I love that as of March 2011, I have two new little brothers. It's amazing how much they have changed since they first came as foster boys. They're so special, though sometimes difficult to love, and I'm so blessed to have them in my family.

5. I love that I got accepted into college! I don't know if I'll be going to Covenant next fall, but it was such a relief to get that letter in the mail and know that if God leads me there, the door's already open.

6. I loved seeing Les Miserables almost a year ago in January. The performance was just amazing, and it was so special for me to be there with my best friends to see the 25th Anniversary show!

7. I love the Irish Tenors. Yes. I know you knew that, but I thought you might want to hear it again.

8. I LOVED this year's GPCWC. It was just fantastic. I'm still sifting through all the stuff I learned and trying to apply it to my stories. I can't wait for next year! (See, they already changed the banner! August 2012, here I come).

9. I love learning about my great-great grandmother, Mae. I love her story, her spunk, and I love my grandmother for telling me all about it. It's so cool to be able to write her story over one hundred years later.

10. I loved seeing Schindler's List for the first time this year. It was such a great film, so well done and so haunting. It's currently one of my favorite films.

11. I loved going to Louisiana in May! The wedding there was beautiful; I was so happy to be able to be there. New Orleans was such a fascinating place to visit, even though it was SO HOT every day.

12. I LOVED being able to go to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with my German 2 class. I will never forget what I saw there, or how it felt to stand in that cattle car, or how emotionally drained I felt on the car ride home. It was a powerful experience and I would go back again in a hearbeat.

13. I love the books I've written in this past year. I know I'm still not even close to being done, but I got words down on paper and even had several new ideas pop up! I love writing, and I'm so thankful that I had another year to do it!

14. I love skiing! All the adventures my friends and I had are too many to post here now. I'm so excited to be going again this January!

15. I LOVE THAT THE HOBBIT IS COMING OUT NEXT YEAR. I just saw the trailer and, as a rabid fan of both the books and the first three films, I went a little berserk. I don't know if I can wait a whole year.

16. I love that I'm falling back in love with wolves. I started quite a few stories about them over the years, and I think another one's on the way. They're such fascinating creatures to write about.

17. I love pasta. Any pasta. ANY. I could eat it for the rest of my life. I ate quite a lot of pasta in this past year.

18. I love my Avaria books. I know I've been neglecting them, and not working as hard as I could to fix those plot holes, but I still think about them all the time and I can't wait until I start writing in them again!

19. I love Christmas. 'Nuff said.

20. I love latex gloves. Granted, they're really hard to get on, especially if your hands are wet. And it's really awkward when you're standing there fixing ever finger while people are waiting to start a procedure. But in a dentist's office, latex gloves are crucial. Since I work in a dentist's office, and I know more than I ever wanted to know about what kinds of nasty things live in your mouth, I really REALLY love latex gloves.

21. I love coffee. I love the effect coffee has on me (I think the coffee itself tastes pretty nasty). I usually only drink it on Sunday mornings, and I try to avoid it otherwise because it really does stain your teeth, but let's face it--I'm becoming an addict pretty fast.

22. I love painting. Over this past year, I've done a lot of painting and I'm starting to like it more than simple pencil or pen & ink art.

23. I love being part of the Class of 2012 (squee!)

24. I love how much reading I've done this past year. Goodreads, you are my friend forever.

25. I love the film Judgment at Nuremberg. Despite the fact that it's very long and pretty detailed, it's a captivating story and has unforgettable characters.

26. I love music from movies! I'm finding out that I really like movie themes--there's just something about them that clicks with me, I guess. I'll sit at the piano for a good hour trying to play my favorite themes by ear. Don't worry--you'll never need to hear the results ;)

27. I love Hershey's Cookies n' Creme candy bar. In fact, I love just about every white chocolate candy bar I've ever come across.

28. I love Ocean City, NJ!

29. But I also love Ocean City, MD! If ever I chose one over the other, my grandmother would disown me =)

30. I love owls. But you already knew that.

31. I loved that I saw my very first sunrise! It was spectacular.

32. I loved this year's NaNoWriMo. Even though I didn't finish quite on time, I have an incredible story started and I can't wait to keep writing it.

33. I love having a cell phone! Okay, so my phone is only a Tracfone, but as my dad says, phones are for making and recieving calls. No more, no less. Annnnd that's exactly what I do. Okay. Sometimes I text a little.

34. I love driving. I'm pretty bad at it still--I have horrible judgment and I've made blind turns more times than I'd like to admit, but I do love it. And I LOOOOVE my little red Honda.

35. I love that I've grown in Christ this past year. I've been lazy and forgetful; I've skipped out on my devotions and prayer time, but He has continued His work in me despite... well, me. I've learned a lot this past year; it's come with hard lessons and many blessings. I can't wait to see what next year has in store.

36. And, in closing, may I just say: I really love my life. It might sound a bit cheesy, but it's true.

 Anyway. I'll probably post once more before Christmas, Lord-willing, although my life is starting to get really busy as the big day approaches. If I don't write to you again soon, I hope you and your families have a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!

God Bless~

Getting in the Mood



Frank called me one day and said, 'I have an idea for a movie, why don't you come over and I'll tell you?'

So I went over and we sat down and he said, 'This picture starts in heaven'. That shook me.


Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_stewart.html#ixzz1gwdjUVhr

It's that time of year again. Time to raid our DVD shelf, searching for just about every Jimmy Stewart movie we own before we plop down on the couch for a veritable marathon of black, white and really tall. All of this joy, of course, can only lead up to one epic film. It's so amazing that my family is only allowed to behold it once every year, sometime around Christmas (preferably Christmas Eve). You must know of it. It's the recorded wonder of that one period in history when Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart made a perfect film (except for that one scene where the wreath is hopping off and on Jimmy's arm).

Yes, people, it's time for It's a Wonderful Life. This is my absolute favorite Jimmy Stewart movie, and almost my favorite movie. In the world. And I've seen my fair share of movies. Good ones, too. But this one's different. It's Christmas for me, not to mention a wonderful story.

It was amazing that a play that seems dated in this world... A man whose best friend is a six-foot white rabbit... But it caught on, especially with young people - they surprised me most of all.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_stewart.html#ixzz1gweuK36g

I've been watching this movie around Christmastime for just about my entire life. My dad loves Jimmy Stewart movies, and this is his favorite film ever made (right up along with To Kill a Mockingbird). I love the storyline, the characters, the amazing actors who brought them to life, the black and whiteness of it all, the shine in people's eyes, Zuzu's hair (and her name for that matter!) and that lovely house that leaks. It's all wonderful, and it only comes once a year.

We don't have too many Christmas traditions. In fact, in recent years we've cut back on Christmas presents, Christmas music, Christmas cookies and Christmas decorations. We try to be careful, because Christmas the way we want to celebrate it is for Jesus, not for the pretty lights, yummy food, amazing movies or wonderful music. Watching It's a Wonderful Life, however, is a tradition we plan to keep, and I certainly want to carry on in my life for as long as I have a DVD player.

Well, I think one of the main things that you have to think about when acting in the movies is to try not to make the acting show.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_stewart.html#ixzz1gwgAnBlt

I love Christmas, both for all the stuff that doesn't truly matter (lights, food, music, movies, etc.) and for all the things that do (the birth of Christ, our salvation). It's hard to balance out the two, especially when the world is so focused on glorifying material things. That's why I like It's a Wonderful Life so much. It's a story about how material things don't really matter. It shows how one man, fictional though he be, finds out that everything he and his family ever wanted was right in front of them. I love the story. And I think nobody could have done a better job as the lead character than good old Jimmy Stewart. And so tonight, as I put on Harvey and begin my Christmas Countdown, I thought I'd remind you all to think about your own traditions at this time of year. I bet they're great--keep them! But also remember that Christmas means more than traditions can ever show.

More Christmas posts will be coming--don't worry about that! Meanwhile, go find yourself a Jimmy Stewart movie and be happy.

Blessings,

Out to the Land of Buggies and Snow

[Via]

That's right--I'm going out to rural farmlands inhabited by Amish folk and a scenic little shopping town called Rockvale tomorrow, seeking Christmas presents for loved ones and answers to a gabazillion questions I have. Who, exactly, shall answer these questions?

My lovely grandmother. I call her Gram. You can, too. She loves everyone <3


Gram is the one who first told me about Mae's story (notice I changed the spelling of her name from May to Mae? Aha. I'm fallible). She sometimes forgets little things like how many cookies we had in one day, but she has remembered Mae's story amazingly well. My biggest problem with this year's NaNoWriMo is that I have absolutely NO idea what anyone did. I know Mae was a telephone operator--still researching what she actually had to do in 1905. But as far as everyone else goes, I'm lost. I'm making up random jobs and hoping those jobs even EXISTED in the early 1900's (hint: not likely). So Gram is my superhero, my lifeline in this garbled mess of history I'm trying to translate into a story. I can't wait to take out my pen and notebook and start writing as she answers away--all the way to Rockvale. It should be a fun ride. My siblings will probably be sick of me asking questions by the end of the day, but I will persevere, and at least find out the important facts. Like whether or not Mae liked cats. Everybody likes cats.

On a different note, IT'S ALMOST THANKSGIVING! I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am. It's seriously my second-favorite holiday, right after Christmas.

Those pictures I promised are forthcoming. Waiting builds character ^_^

Happy Writing~~~