Good Morning!

Last night I awoke from Deep and Relaxing Sleep. In, fact, I was rather pleased with myself at having got up some fifteen minutes or so before the old alarm sounded the cry. Now, self-satisfaction is hardly ever an acceptable emotion, but it is capital motivation when it comes to getting up early.

There's nothing like sitting around with a group of kids at some function or another and after listening to so-and-so say, "I got up at 6:00" and after hearing what's-his-name say, "I got up at 5:45," have the ability to announce, "Well! I've been up since 4:00!"

Of course, the triumph is a small reward for having to get up at four.

Anyway, on this particular instance, I got up, yawned, stretched and what-not. I jumped out of my pjs and into a pair of clean clothes. I walked to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and washed my face.


Why is this the least bit interesting? Read on.

While scrubbing away at the pearly whites, I glanced out the window at the dark horizon. It was a very literal dark horizon. Odd. It's usually lighter than this at 6:30. However, I brushed the thought away with recollections of the recent daylight savings.

Then I noticed that my entire family was already up. And it's not exactly common for my siblings to be up at 6:30, especially if it's dark.

Then, I noticed that the dinner dishes were still on the table.

Then, I noticed that my dear mother and father weren't back yet from the dinner they had gone to the night before.


Then, I noticed it was still yesterday. I don't think I'll ever take another nap. They are way too confusing.

Yeah, I think I'll step right in the shoes of Einstein.

Awesome video:

I love this video. It is epic.

http://www.archive.org/details/PingPong_1

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”~C.S. Lewis.


Argh! Yes! Brisingr was not long enough! Such a good series! However, I was a little disappointed with the lack of a climax. = ( I was waiting for the climax, waiting, waiting...

And then the book just ended. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Here's another excellent quote by C.S. Lewis:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
He is such a wise man.




So, per request of Libby, Peach, and Kei, I am posting these videos.

Do not feel obligated to watch it. You probably won't be amused.

A laugh for all you NaNoWriMo-ers:

Here is a hilarious, indispensible quote from William Somerset Maugham:
(It made me burst out in giggles, [yes, giggles mind you] when I first read it)

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

Is that hysterically, tragically true? Boy, do I know it. I am in the process of creating a villain (not for NaNo, for school!) and I have decided to make him as interesting as the main character. Huh. Easier said than done.

Anyway, here's some inspiration for you writers:





I am convinced that most bloggers decrease posting by half in November, if they are doing NaNo. Not that I blame them or anything.

Here's to NaNo-ers! Best wishes to you and have fun writing. I hope your eye's don't dry out from staring at the computer screen!

Church Bus Trip!

Yesterday was the delightful church bus trip. We sang the Sound of Music, danced the Chicken dance (and the bunny hop) discussed the meaning of life as it relates to toenails, listened to a beautiful sermon, worshipped, fellow-shipped, played soccer, and altogether had a jolly time.

My entire family succeeded (like we always do) in getting absolutely no photographs. We are quite adept at always forgetting the camera. However, there was an abundance of cameras on the bus. The count ended somewhere around 10. I took unwilling part in multiple camera wars. Here's some proof (blurry, because they're taken from a video camera) that I won a couple battles. All of these persons at some point or another participated. I missed the last five people. And I didn't get a picture of Problematic(See bloglist in sidebar). =P

I got some videos with my Flip, Audie. Sort of. They're rather... unprofessional. Of course, all my videos are, but these ones are particularly incoherent...

Peach dropped her candy on the floor and was forced to blow the germs off. Hence the picture.

Between the pages...

I guess you could say I am stuck between the pages of Brisingr right now.

Stuck. Absorbed. Submerged. Immersed. Enthralled.

Whatever you want to say, I am enjoying it!

I am sure my fellow readers understand my state of being at the moment. Perhaps even enough to forgive this Very Short blog post.

Oh how difficult it is to try and finish Murder in the Cathedral (T.S. Eliot, for my literature discussion) when that epic book is calling! However, by sheer force of willpower, I shall accomplish it.

After I finish this chapter.

Yipppeeeeee!!!

Huzzah! Hooray! Hurrah! Cheers!

To me. I finished my speech that was due a month (oh, wait, a year) ago and now I get to read Brisinger! You see, only a month after Brisinger came out, Mom bought it for Bracie and I. She looked us deeply in the eyes and said,

"You can read this only after you write a speech."

And I've been through a year and about 5 speech topics, but I finally found one that worked and I wrote it.

Now I am going to curl up on my bed, wearing fuzzy socks and sipping hot chocolate and listening to epic music...

After I cite about a million sources in MLA format. Bleh. Research essay classes are joy smushing. Anywho, if I have to cite resources, I might as well do it in fuzzy socks.

What are your reading habits? Nooks?

They just might take over the world.

You know what are really, really, weird?

Monchichis.

They seriously creep me out. What are they exactly??? Some kind of strange mutant monkey with bows? Dahhhhhh!

Watch this and tell me what you think. Personally, I believe they are plotting to take over the planet, nevermind the cuddly exterior.

In which I come to a realization:

Today, I sat down at the computer and realized...

That I have been blogging for over a year. It was rather startling.

And I realized that this is only my 250th post. Hmmm...

365
- 250

That doesn't come out quite right. Ah well.

Anyway, I have put up a poll.

Sublimate!

My current vocabularily word is SUBLIMATE.

The official definition is:

sublimate (sub' le mait) [limen sublimate (sub' le mait)

To turn aside an instintual, perhaps primitive impulse in favor of a more socially or culturally acceptable activity.


However, I have redefined the word. Here's what it now means:

sublimate:

To suppress the desire to squeeze a brand new tube of toothpaste in the middle. To chose to not eat the first bite out of every apple. Deciding not to hurl the chair you just stubbed your toe on half-way across the room.

In a sense, sublimate means, "Don't anything Ramona Quimby would do."

Sublimating is choosing not to throw the Murder in the Cathedral commentary at the librarian's head because it's the commentary and not the actual play. It means to not bang the keyboard in frustration when the computer deletes the resource page that you've been collecting for the last hour.

Yup. It's been a great Monday.

Enough complaining. You know what I need to do? I need to go write a story about a character who attracts misfortune. Right now. Then, if I can make enough horrid things happen to them, then I will feel better.

After all, didn't Jonathon Swift say, "Nothing is bigger or smaller except by comparision."? So by comparison with this story I am going to write, my little troubles will melt away like, um, er, uh, butter?

Here's a song for you all:

One last Marian post:

Two poems too exhilarating to not share:

And what eye hath e'er seen such a sweet Maiden Queen,
As Marian, the pride of the forester's green?
A sweet garden-flower, she blooms in the bower,
Where alone to this hour the wild rose has been:
We hail her in duty the queen of all beauty:
We will live, we will die, by our sweet Maiden queen. Thomas Love Peacock

"A bonny fine maid of noble degree,
Maid Marian called by name,
Did live in the north, of excellent worth,
For she was a gallant dame.

For favour, and face, and beauty most rare,
Queen Helen she did excel;
For Marian then was praised of all men
That did in the country dwell." ~I actually don't know who wrote that. Sorry...

More Marian Photos

The following are just Marian-ish photos. Thank you Kei!