Friday, November 4, 2016

Ten Favorite Musical Moments

I've been on a listening to music from musicals kick recently (cause I don't have time to actually watch them!). This has sparked this post of my Ten Favorite Musical Moments!
There are plenty of musicals I have not yet seen so don't assume I hate the musical because I don't have your favorite one represented here on this list. Also, don't presume I love the musical because it is represented on this list. I may just like it's music.
In no particular order.
  1. Tradition!  From Fiddler on the Roof
  2. Do, Re, Mi from The Sound of Music
  3. Singing in the Rain from Singing in the Rain
  4. The Barn Dance from Seven Brides from Seven Brothers 
  5. Salesman Song from The Music Man
  6. Do You Hear the People Sing from Les Miserables
  7. I Could have Danced all Night from My Fair Lady
  8. Step in Time from Mary Poppins
  9. The Black Hills of Dakota from Calamity Jane 
  10. All I Ask of You from the Phantom of the Opera 
And some Disney honorable mentions. :)
  1. Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast
  2. Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid
If you are a musical lover as well feel free to consider yourself tagged! I'd love to see what your favorite musical moments are. :)

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Monday, October 31, 2016

It's Monday! Baptism

Little Ginny Mae was baptized this last Sunday in the baptism gown I made for her. Hashtag proud aunt moments. ;) Every baptism I see at church fills me with joy but when it's your own niece the joy is just inexpressible. <3

With reluctance I move on to books...

Currently Reading

  • Total Truth by Nancy Pierce- Some hefty theology/culture reading for me. 
  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (aka J.K. Rowling)- I need to get this read before the movie comes out! It's taken me way too long to start it. 

Finished this Week

My brother Tim and I goofing off... yes ladies
he is still single... please take him off my hands! 
  • The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read) (audiobook)- I love Tolkien... what can I say? 
  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs- I liked it a lot more than I though I would... enough so that I'll probably pick up the rest of the series at some point.  It had it's downsides but surprisingly enjoyable. 

Coming Soon

  • Tales From the Perilous Realms by J.R.R. Tolkien- A fellow Tolkien lover lent this one to me about three months ago but I got caught up in other books but I think I'm about freed up now to where I should be able to get to this soon. 
  • St. Bartholomew's Eve by G.A. Henty (re-read)- I've been doing a lot of audiobooks in the car and I this will be my next one. 

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Monday, October 24, 2016

It's Monday! And then it was Autumn

I'm trying to stay more up to date on my blog. A post here and there. During my time away from my blog I've been able to assess how I want to come back to my blog and how I want to prevent myself like I did before. My conclusion was that I while I love reviewing books on my blog I need to stop reviewing every book I read. It's simply not necessary and limits my enjoyment of both the reading experience and the blogging experience.
So with that resolve I'm going to try and move forward with reading and blogging and enjoy both immensely. :)
So... It's Monday! What am I reading?

Currently Reading

  • The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read) (audiobook)

Finished Recently

  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (re-read) (audiobook)
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (re-read)
  • Craving Grace by Ruthie Delk
  • Winter by Marissa Meyer 

Coming Soon

  • Tales From the Perilous Realms by J.R.R. Tolkien 

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Friday, October 21, 2016

Aunt Lois

She's here! My first niece has arrived! Tiny, perfect and precious all bundled up. :))))
Feast your eyes on these pictures and tell me she isn't the cutest!









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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday- Characters I'd Name Something After

The theme for this week's Top Ten Tuesday is characters you'd name something (car/pet/kid) after.
It's a little scary how much I want to name my kids certain weird Tolkien names. I know I shouldn't but I do! Probably it would be better if I named my pets after them but it would be so much COOLER if my kid got named Gandalf don't you think? ;)
Anyways, here's my more realistic idea of what characters I would name a car/pet/kid after.

Children

  1. Darci(e) Elizabeth- I know I've mentioned this one here on the blog before. Obviously this one comes from Pride and Prejudice, my favorite book. I'm pretty stuck on this idea for a name though my family has tried to talk me out of it several times. I guess it will depend on what my future husband thinks of it. 
  2. Aiden or Tozer (as a middle name)- This is for one of my favorite theologians A.W. (Aiden Wilson) Tozer. 
  3. Arwen or Eowyn- I feel like these two are more realistic uses of Tolkien's names. They're not too weird. 
  4. Anne (as a middle name)- From Anne of Green Gables of course though it could also be for Anne Elliot in Persuasion. 
  5. Elinor, Eleanor, Elanor- I can't decide on how I would want this name spelled if I did utilize it. If I spelled it Elinor it could be after Elinor from Sense and Sensibility but if I spelled it Elanor it would be after Sam and Rosie's daughter in LOTR and then Eleanor is just another spelling I like of the name. Too many choices! 
Vehicle
  1. Shadowflax- My car actually almost got name Shadowflax but I ended up going with Finn instead (which is not actually for Star Wars but that's a nice side effect).  
  2. T.A.R.D.I.S.- Not literally but I did also think about naming my car the T.A.R.D.I.S. and it would have been awesome. 
Pet
  1. Strider- From LOTR obviously. I knew a family who named their dog Strider and I always thought that was the neatest idea. 
  2. Bilbo- Bilbo is one of my favorite characters and I would definitely name a pet after him. Faramir- Because much as I want to name my kid after my favorite character from LOTR I don't think he would ever forgive me so I'll have to name the dog Faramir instead. 



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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Q&A Tag

Lover of Lembas tagged me in the Q&A tag! Thank you!
Here are my answers!

  1. Do you play a sport?  Is there a sport you want to learn? No! I'm not a sports person at all. I wish I was a runner and I wish I could play basketball (I have certain height issues that get in the way of that one). 
  2. Sunrise or sunset?  Why? Sunset... only because I'm not normally awake or outside (when I'm working) for a sunrise. 
  3. What was your dream job as a little kid? To be an author. 
  4. What was the last movie you watched you really liked? I really liked Captain America: Civil War. Besides that I'm not sure there's any movie that I watched for the first time that I've really liked recently. I liked (but I wouldn't say really liked) Love and Friendship and Metropolitan which I watched semi-recently. 
  5. What songs are stuck in your head? Always the most embarrassing to admit songs. Always. I tend to get the hymn There is a Fountain Filled with Blood stuck in my head. Recently it's been a lot of Can't Stop the Feeling and the parody song The Pancrease Song
  6. What is something that makes you feel nostalgic? Seeing toys I used to play with as a kid. Walking down to the river. Reading a favorite childhood book. Ruminating on our childhood with my siblings. 
  7. If you were granted an extra hour to be added to your day (so you have 25 hours) what would you spend the hour doing? I would like to think I would use it to do something improving like reading a book or cleaning the house but in reality I would probably use it to watch an extra episode of whatever TV show I'm currently watching. :( 
  8. What is one of the most embarrassing moments you're willing to share? Ha! One time I left a message on a person's answering machine and at the end of it for unknown reasons I felt fit to add an "amen" at the end of it. 
  9. If you could customize your car license plate (for most U.S. readers, that means pick any combination of 5-7 words and letters) what would you want your license plate to say? I'd want the year I was married and the initials of my husband and I probably. Obviously that's not something I could currently put on a license plate.
  10. Rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, or the ocean? Streams. There's something nostalgic and romantic about a simple little stream curling through a forest or prairie. 


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Monday, September 26, 2016

It's Monday! Trying Again

I'm kind of starting to miss blogging now. I'm not saying I'm going to start blogging religiously now but I'm going to try and do it a little more. So here's another It's Monday post. :)

Currently Reading

  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (re-read)- I totally fell of the bandwagon with Hamlette's read-along for this book but I am still reading it. I got caught up in too many other books unfortunately.
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (re-read) (audiobook)- I didn't plan to re-read this but this was an audiobook I owned and I never get tired of Pride and Prejudice. 
  • Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens- Another read-along I've managed to botch. I might just set this one aside for awhile. 

What I've finished reading since my last It's Monday post

  • The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (re-read)
  • Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (re-read)
  • The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (re-read)
  • Waverley by Sir Walter Scott
  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer
  • Scarlett by Marissa Meyer
  • Cress by Marissa Meyer
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker (audiobook)
  • Great Adventures in Nursing by Helen Wright 
  • Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse (re-read) (audiobook)

Coming Soon (hopefully)

  • Winter by Marissa Meyer
  • Tales From the Perilous Realms by J.R.R. Tolkien 
  • The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis (re-read)

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Friday, September 23, 2016

The Baptismal Gown

Back in March I announced that I was going to be an Aunt. No the precious child has not arrived yet but she will be here soon!!! I also announced then that I was going to make her a baptismal/christening gown. That has (finally) arrived! It took me several months because I'm a dreadful procrastinator but it is completed. Knowing how much I procrastinate I made my deadline to have it finished the day of my sister-in-law's baby shower so I wouldn't be finishing it up as she was delivering the baby. Naturally, I finished it the day of her baby shower. I'm excited about how it turned out but it burned me out from crochet for a little while I think. The baby shower was absolutely splendiferous. It had a book theme naturally and I helped organize a mad libs game with classic children's stories that was fun.
Now I'm just eagerly awaiting the birth of my FIRST NIECE!!!! :)))))))
eBeth and I with the gown. 
The gown. 

Myself, eBeth and my little sister Betsy.
Final note: If you're interested THIS LINK is for the pattern. It's a free pattern and while it was challenging in parts it's a doable pattern and obviously has gorgeous results.

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Wednesday, September 7, 2016

So You Want to be a Nurse

Now that I've been a nurse for a little over a year now I feel very qualified to speak on the subject of being a nurse. ;) So you want to be a nurse? Here's what you should know beforehand.
  1. It's gross.... Don't ever underestimate the grossness of nursing. On that same note though, you work past it. You get better at handling the smells and the disgusting sights of "who knows what that is!" I wasn't always able to handle it and still some smells make me want to join my patient in puking but it does get better. 
  2. It's inappropriate... As a shelter homeschooled child I was shook out of my innocent world by the nursing profession. I've gotten a LOT more at ease with a lot of situations and don't blush nearly as hard as I used to (I'm a really bad blusher) but let's face it... it's still awkward. There's definitely nursing humor which is pretty much never appropriate so learning how to handle that has been an adventure. 
  3. It doesn't just take a caring personality... It takes determination and a lot of support from your family. However, please don't go into nursing unless you have a caring personality... I know nurses that aren't very caring and let's just say they shouldn't be nurses. 
  4. It's stressful... You come home drained and emotionally exhausted. In just one shift you can have one patient crying on your shoulder, one patient giving you a hug and then one patient hitting you... and then if you're really lucky one patient doing all of that.  You never know. 
  5. It's terrifying... Having a person's life in your hands is scary and that never gets old and really never should. 
  6. It's worth it.... It really is. As crazy as it is I love it. Every time a patient tells me thank you I forget about the other patient that just shouted at me five minutes before. 
So you want to be a nurse?

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Saturday, August 13, 2016

Reading Habits Book Tag and an Update on My Life

It's been almost a month since I've posted. Sorry! I didn't intend to wait this long, though I did say I wouldn't be posting as often. So yes I'm still alive and reading.
A little update on my life is due I suppose. I switched from night shift to day shift recently. I'm still not sure how I'm liking the transition yet. I really loved night shift in a lot of respects so it will probably take some time to adjust. A normal sleeping pattern is much appreciated though. I was able to take a quick trip up to Missouri with a couple of my siblings and a couple other friends to visit some friends that we met on the mission trip we went on in June. It was a lot of fun to reconnect and we also got to experience a great ten mile canoeing/kayaking trip. I'm starting to feel the time crunch to get the christening gown done for my brother and sister-in-law's baby as she's due in October! Better get crocheting! We also have a Japanese exchange student here right now which has been fun. He'll be heading home soon though. The other day a couple of my friends and I went to several antique stores and enjoyed going through them and naturally I found some books but also we found some adorable aprons! So that's basically my life right about now.

Now here's the Reading Habits Book Tag I saw on another blog. I do love a good tag. :)

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Normally I read in my bed but sometimes a comfy chair does the trick. 

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Bookmark normally but I've utilized many random pieces of paper when I was short a bookmark before. 

Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/a certain amount of pages?

In the past I always had to finish the chapter but in the last few years I've gotten better at just putting the book down, though it still isn't easy. 

Do you eat or drink while reading?

It depends but not normally. 

Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

No! I can multitask with some things but not with reading. Unless it's an audiobook but that's kind of a different scenario. 

One book at a time or several?

I normally have several going anymore though it used to be only one at a time. I normally have one normal book and one audiobook at the same time at least but oftentimes more than that. 

Reading at home or everywhere? 

Growing up we had to take a book whenever we were going anywhere to read in the car or else we would actually get in trouble. Because of that mentality I normally have a book with me when I go somewhere but I'm not as strict about that as I used to be. 

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Unless I'm reading to someone I'm reading silently in my head. 

Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

Never! It really annoys me when people do that and I have two close relatives that do that.... they're lucky I still claim them as relatives. ;) 

Breaking the spin or keeping it like new?

I own very few new books so normally I don't have to make that decision. Most of my books are beautifully worn already. The couple new books I do have I really don't take the trouble to keep like new as the whole point of having a book is to read it and to break it in. 

Do you write in your books?

No! I have highlighted or underlined in non-fiction books before but even then very rarely. 

It feels good to be blogging again even if it's just this one post for now. I am trying to keep up with y'all in the blogosphere but sorry if I miss anything! 

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