Today is Wednesday and there is no choir.

I haven't posted in a while... I've been busy with other things and every time I sit down at the computer meaning to post I end up trying to work on my story instead.

Another reason I haven't posted recently is because I don't have much to say. Not much going on with me at the moment. Just working with my dad, working on my story, doing jewelry, drawing, and regular every day stuff.

My mind right now is so filled with my story. It's rather frustrating... I'm a little stuck and a little obsessed. I know what I want to happen and all, I'm just having a little trouble getting there. About three thousand, five hundred words so far. :P

I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop this Friday and Monday! Buy one get one fifty percent off lowest price.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/shayleenb

I've been working on my drawing quite a bit lately. Eventually I'll scan some and upload them here. You can tell me what you think. :)

Here are some blogs you should read. :)

http://blocked-doors.blogspot.com/

http://chrisflyhigh.blogspot.com/

http://theerraticmuse.blogspot.com/

http://wilsonftw.blogspot.com/

http://theroseofsharon16.blogspot.com/

http://thesoundoflifessweetbells.blogspot.com/

New Julian Smith videos. :P :D If you haven't seen him before you should go look him up on Youtube. :) Especially Hot Kool aid and Malk. :D

That song has been going through my head all day. :P

I'm hungry...

There was a slight dusting of snow today. It's so funny... Everyone freaks out when there's snow... It didn't even cover the ground and school was cancelled and stuff. There was ice on the ground though... :P We didn't go to work today. For which I am grateful. :P It was COLD!

Now I have run out of things to say SO I will go to bed. It is super cold in my room at night!!! It's in the basement and it's like -10,000 degrees in there! :P But I got a new blanket yesterday and it's all fuzzy and soft and warm...... .. .... Sorry. :P I got distracted. PLUS it matches my room colors! I love green. :D Now if Fiona had got a pink one instead of a blue it would have been perfect. :P :)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!!! My Grandma and Uncle Ric are coming over for dinner. :)

I feel weird...

Anyways, Goodnight!!!

Love to you all

Shay

???

I've been wondering... Should I start putting up my story on this blog one chapter at a time so people can read it? It would certainly keep me more motivated to write more but then people would be reading it before it's completion... I am sure that there will be several more drafts once I actually get it completely written.

What do you think?

Which Peanuts Character Are You?

You Are Linus

You are an optimistic and open minded person. You believe that everything will work out in the end. You are very kind and forgiving. You're always willing to give someone another chance. You are highly creative and innovative. People sometimes just don't get what you're doing. You are brainier and smarter than people realize. You are always thinking, plotting, or dreaming.

What Peanuts Character Are You?

My Day Today

This is just a quick post to tell you HOW TIRED I AM!!! I am SO not used to being up at six. :P And I'll be up again tomorrow morning at that ghastly time...

On the upside I may be learning how to use the saws tomorrow. :)

I didn't do too much at work today. Not much for me to do that they wouldn't have to teach me. I did watch/help Scott work on the brakes for his truck. They never did end up working. :P I also did some sweeping and vacuuming. Just like the good old days when I used to go to work with Papa every single day. I would like to know how many pounds of debris I have swept up over all that time. :P

Randomly, speaking of knowing how much of something, I know approximately how many pounds of oats I have eaten up to my sixteenth year... About two tons... 4,000 pounds... That's raw oats before adding the milk and sugar and stuff. :P Kind of ridiculous.

I think you can tell that I'm tired.

Anyways, after work we all came back here. Scott came with us because his truck had to be towed. Poor guy. We ate dinner, drank coffee, and played Halo. Then Scott left for a meeting at the Church and I almost fell asleep in front of the fireplace. After that Forrest and I played Heroes for a while and now I'm sitting here posting, listening to my music, and sniffling with a sore throat and a headache courtesy of a cold. :P So lame.

Here's what's playing right now. :)

I love that song. :) It makes me so happy.

This is the song that's been going through my head the past few weeks. Actually it's been going through my head off and on since the dance. I REALLY want another dance!!! This one was the Grand March. :D I love the Grand March...

You Are Both an Introvert and an Extrovert

You are a bit shy and hesitant around people you don't know well. It takes a bit to get you to open up. You like to weigh all of your options before making a decision. You are apt to look for a compromise. You are easy going and low maintenance. You tend to let the small stuff slide. You rely on your friends. They are like family to you... in fact, you probably consider them to be your family.

The House Oracle

I'm off to bed now! Another early day tomorrow and I would like this sore throat to be gone so that I can sing properly in choir tomorrow night.

Goodnight all!

Love, Shay

Some Awesome Heroes

I decided to do a post about my favorite movie heroes, in no particular order. :)

Spock played by Zachary Quinto in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Logical and emotionless. :)

Of course there's always the Doctor :D This is the 11th Doctor played by Matt Smith starting in 2010. And I cannot figure out how to get this off underline!!! Most frustrating...

Wesley from the Princess Bride 1987 movie. :D :D :D One of my absolutest favoritest heroes. This movie was something that I grew up with. It was my Mom and Dad's first date. :)

Colonel Brandon!!! :D My favorite Jane Austen Hero. Well, him and Charles Bingley. He has the most amazing voice.
Also, he is so wonderful the way he stands by Marianne even when she's being a little idiot.

1995

Christopher Eccleston is the third Doctor starting in 2005. He revives the old series and starts a new one. Even though he was only in one series he has made a very lasting impression on all Doctor Who fans.

Of course what list of heroes would be complete without Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy? :D

1995

The Four Feathers was a very good movie, though it had quite a bit of blood and war, if that kind of thing bothers you. :P 1995

Also it had Heath Ledger, a very very good actor.

Another movie with him that I love is A Knight's Tale--2001

The Spider man series used to be my favorite till it was replaced with Iron Man. I'm actually not that crazy about Spider Man, but Harry (James Franco) was very very cool. At least he was in Spider Man 3-2007. To bad he died... :(

Joaquin Phoenix was in Signs-2002 and The Village-2004 and played wonderful characters in both of them.

Christian Kane plays Eliot in the TV series Leverage. :D : D :D 2008

Some of things that I particularly like about him is that he is a complete defender of the helpless. Of course the whole team is, but him in particular. He's always helping little kids. :)

Michael Shanks, one of my favorite actors and one of my favorite characters. :) He plays Daniel Jackson in the tv show Stargate SG-1 that began in 1997 and ran until 2007. Ten seasons made it the longest North American science fiction show on tv. :D

There were also two movies made of the show.

Daniel is another person who is a defender of the weak. He always gets along with little kids and saving damsels in distress. :D

Tony from the tv show NCIS 2003, has some problems... :P As you know if you watch the show. But then, on the other hand, when it really matters he puts his life on the line for his team over and over.

That one episode where Gibbs is in a car with this girl and drove it into the river... Tony runs through this building shooting the bad guys while running, then without stopping he dives into the river pulling both the girl and Gibbs to safety. That was a pretty awesome part.

Nicolas Cage from a number of movies. :P The Family Man-2000--National Treasure-2004--Ghost Rider-2007--Next-2007

Peter Davison the fifth Doctor starting in 1981. One of my five favorite Doctors. :)

Jack O'Neill-two Ls. He is also from the tv show Stargate SG-1 1997. One of the reasons I like him so much, besides the fact that he does a great job, is that he reminds me so much of both my Dad and my big brother Scott. :D

He was made an honorary Brigadier General for his positive portrayal of the Air Force for all ten years.

David Tennant was the 10th Doctor starting in 2005 and my favorite. :D I think, and many people believe the same, that he was the best Doctor ever. "I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry..."

Tom Baker was the fourth Doctor 1974 and was the man who made Doctor Who what it is. :) He is so eccentric and different and I love his ridiculous scarf.

2010--The Mad Hatter... was just amazing... Jonny Depp was spectacular as the Mad Hatter. The way his voice went all Scottish when he was angry... The way he saved Alice and was willing to fight the Jabberwocky. I think that he is a very good example of what men should be today. Aside the from the insanity of course. :P

The Lake House Movie Review

Today I wasn't feeling well so I watched, The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.

It's a rather unusual story I think, about two people who discover that they live two years apart. He's in 2004 and she's in 2006. They write a lot of letters to each other through a mailbox at a beach house that they've both lived at.

There isn't anything objectionable in this movie and is ok for everyone. :)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Movie Review

I recently watched Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. Cheesy name I know... :P

This is one that I would highly recommend.

It's an interesting mix of 1940's + science fiction (laser guns and an old fashioned camera)

Jude Law plays Sky Captain, or Joe Sullivan and Gwyneth Paltrow is Polly Perkins, a newspaper reporter. There is also Angelina Jolie as Franky Cook and Giovanni Ribisi as Dex Dearborn, also my favorite character. :D

The evil scary robots that destroy the city!

Yay Dex! :D

The mysterious woman that is unusually strong...

Polly Perkins

Polly and Joe. How sweet :)

The filming was interesting and so was the way they colored it. It was in general a different kind of movie and I liked that.

I don't know if you would recognize this, but the music they play in this trailer is the theme from Stargate SG-1... A little odd. :P

Song for today.

I can't get over how beautiful this song is and just how much I love it... I think some proof of that is that it's the second time it's been my song for the day. :)

Betsy Tacy Books

These were some of my first chapter books.

They're simple and sweet, and I think they're a very good example of the way little girls think. :)

My First Little House Books Review

I love these books because of the illustrations. :) They're so soft and sweet.

Today...

Oh am I tired...

I was up at 6:30 today!!! So early for me...

Why was I up at that horrible early time??? I got up so I could go to work today with Papa. He's currently doing a roofing job and I went with him today to help. I used to go all the time when I was little but it had been a really long time since the last one.

It was Papa, Forrest, Irene, Fiona, Scott and me there.

So I spent about six hours on a roof today. :) Pulled piles and piles of shingles, almost fell off three times, picked up nails and staples, ate six pieces of pizza, dumped all the shingles into a dumpster, drank two cokes, and thoroughly abused my hands. They're pretty sore right now. And I'm going again tomorrow and I have to be up by six!!!!! Blaaah...

After we were done working we all came back home and Scott and I sat and talked for a while outside, then we ate dinner, and then Forrest, Scott, and I played a couple rounds of Halo. :D I almost beat Forrest twice... :P And Scott did very very well considering that this was pretty much his second time playing and his first playing Halo Reach. Then Papa, Scott, and Forrest played a round and I laughed so hard my ribcage hurt. They were nuts! :D

Then Scott had to go so after making more coffee we watched three episodes of Doctor Who. We're going through all the seasons again. We finished season two tonight. I love that last episode... It makes me cry every single time but there are so many awesome quotes!

Cyber Leader: Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen.
Dalek Leader: This is not war - this is pest control!
Cyber Leader: We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?
Dalek Leader: Four.
Cyber Leader: You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?
Dalek Leader: We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek! You superior in only one respect.
Cyber Leader: What is that?
Dalek Leader: You are better at dying.

Cyberman: Our technology is compatible; although your design is less elegant.
Dalek: Daleks have no concept of elegance!
Cyberman: This is obvious.

It kind of loses something though when it's not in their voices... They both have such awesome voices!

What Wizard of Oz Character Are You?

You Are Dorothy

You are a little lost right now, but you are slowly finding your way home. You are a kind and loyal person. You are the truest friend anyone could ever have. You have an active imagination, and you are intrigued by far away places. You make friends easily. But at the end of the day, there is no place like home. You value your family and roots.

What Wizard of Oz Character Are You?

Black as Night Book Review

Black as Night (Snow White) is the second book in the series by Regina Doman. I did a review of The Shadow of the Bear, the first book, a couple days ago. I like this book, but not as much as the other three. It was kind of boring I thought, and her style bugged me a little. She keeps referring to Blanch as, "the girl". Once or twice is fine... But she does it constantly. Kind of annoying. :P And now that I've pointed it out to you it will bother you all the way through the book too! Mwahahaha!!

Back cover

"Another rat?" Brother Herman's face wrinkled into a grin. The rats of the South Bronx were legendary in size.

"Who knows?" The friars entered the church, genuflected, and walked into the vestibule. There they saw Charley squatting before something in the corner, staring with his mouth wide open. Matt slipped up to the burly novice. "What is it, Charley?"

"It's a girl," Charley said hoarsely, pointing at the foot. For a moment, Matt mistook the white ankle for a dismembered limb and he breathed, "Sweet Jesus."

The whole community was gathered in the vestibule now. Brother Herman was frowning. He had edged closer to the pile of coats and was leaning his chubby frame over the body, turning his red, round face this way and that. Finally he leaned back heavily with a sigh. "I think she's just sleeping," he said in a stage whisper to Fr. Francis. There was an almost audible group sigh.

"Well, that's something to be thankful for", said Fr. Francis briskly, in a soft voice. "But why should she be sleeping here?"

"In this modern-day retelling of an old fairy tale, a young woman is fleeing a haunting evil and a young man is being forced to come to grips with himself and with his past. Bear and Blanch, with the support of Rose and Fish, seek light amidst mysteriously dark and puzzling circumstances. They receive unexpected help--from seven ready-for anything Franciscan friars! Long-awaited sequel to the Shadow of the Bear."

A favorite passage:

"They were such an odd company--a half dozen or so bearded men in gray and one black and white girl, seated around a rough table in a squalid kitchen. But from the roars of unchecked laughter that engulfed them, it was evident that there was a unique bond melding. A ring of plain metal set with the jewel of a girl.

Yes, it was unusual, Brother Leon reflected. It would not last--there was little practical way Nora could remain with them. But the image was a lasting one, and he tucked it away in his store of memory as an unusual glint of light from the Kingdom of Heaven, God's odd reflection."

This book was definitely my least favorite of them, but I would still recommend reading it. It is a good story, and it makes it so that the first book flows easily to the third.

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie

I know I've already done a post on an Agatha Christie book, but I just read this one and loved it more than I usually love her books. I had read it once before, but I'd forgotten about it.

Isn't that cover awesome? :D

Back Cover

"Rosemary, that's for remembrance." Six people are thinking about beautiful Rosemary Barton, who died nearly a year before. There's the loving sister, the long-suffering husband, the devoted secretary, the lovers, and the betrayed wife. None of them can forget Rosemary. But did one of them murder her?"

I could not figure out who had done it till the very end. Can you?

A tag

I was tagged by Beka a while ago and am finally doing it. :P

1. If you won a $1000 shopping spree, but could only shop at three stores, what stores would they be?

A bead store, Romy, Macy's

2. If you could change lives with one person for a day who would it be?

It depends on the day... Maybe Kerilynn on a day that she goes to KA. :P I do still wish I had gone there.

3. If you could look like anyone in the world who would it be?

Myself.

4.What is your most unrealistic fear?

I don't really have unrealistic ones I don't think... I'm terrified of being forgotten or lonely but that's not unrealistic.

5. If you had to perform an act on America’s Got Talent, what would you do?

I would sing Angel by Sarah McLachlan

6. What song best describes how you are feeling this moment?

I don't know... My moods change so quickly. The ones that I especially love at the moment are Bearing Witness by Collective Soul and You and Me by Lifehouse

7. What is your favorite make-up look?

I'm not sure what this means exactly...

8. Who is your role model?

I actually have a couple role models but I'm not going to say who. :P I don't want to freak them out.

And now the questions for you to answer are...

1. Right off the top of your head, what is your favorite song of the moment?

2. If you could visit another time period, what would it be and where would you go?

3. What is a guilty pleasure of yours?

4. What is the most exciting thing you have done or will do this week?

5. A line from a song that you find meaningful.

6. What is a quality that you most respect in another person?

7. Do you play an instrument?

8. Where would you most like to take a vacation at?

And I tag:

Christopher

Benny

Scott

Katy

Nathan

Juli

and anyone else who would like to do it. :)

Answer the eight questions I wrote and then write eight of your own.

Reformation Day

Last Sunday was Halloween. Or, if you're like me, it was Reformation Day. :D

That costume was awesome. :D Nathan as The Doctor. He even had the sonic screwdriver :D

Our Church has a Reformation Day celebration every year. Someone does a talk, the choir sings, there's food, and there are booths with games in all the classrooms.

This year I ran the scavenger hunt booth with one of my very good friends. It's kind of a boring booth to run but it was still a good night mostly.

I really wish I had a camera so that I could have taken pictures of some of the really awesome costumes. Bryan went in a full suit of armor that he'd made himself. :D Pretty amazing.

But since I don't I will just end this post. I think next year's Reformation Day will be even better. I certainly hope to have a camera by then. :P

Winnie the Pooh Alert!

It has recently come to my attention that there are actually people who have never read Winnie the Pooh... *choke* *gasp* *falls over dead on the floor* This is a serious catastrophe and must be remedied!!!

If you know any such person you must help them!

If you yourself have never read Winnie the Pooh you must realize the seriousness of your condition and go and immediately read every single one of the stories! (The old ones by A. A. Milne of course)

Also the illustrations are beautiful. :)

My personal favorite is In Which A Search Is Organdized, and Piglet Nearly Meets the Heffalump Again.

Regina Doman

I'm moving my other posts here. Having an Etsy shop makes it waaay too hard to keep up so many blogs.

All my friends are pretty aware of my love for the modern re-tellings of fairy tales by Regina Doman.

I have read each of these books many many times.

The Shadow of the Bear is the first and is the fairytale Snow White and Rose Red. It's about two sisters named Blanche and Rose. Blanche is eighteen and Rose sixteen. They recently lost their father and moved with their mother to New York where their mother works as a nurse. One night when they meet a young man named Bear. Blanche distrusts him at first and suspects him of doing or selling drugs. She then finds out that he was in juvenile detention for drug possession. But he becomes friends with her and her family and comes back many times.

But Bear has a secret involving murder, stolen church vessels, kidnapping, and torture, and both Blanche and Rose get sucked into it.

Questionable content in this book includes the things listed above, (murder, kidnapping, and torture) also it is a book written from a catholic point of view, if that kind of thing bothers you. Also at one point Rose has to get away from a drunk guy who is trying to kiss her. Nothing happens though. :P

Back cover:

"I like G. K. Chesterton," Rose volunteered, thinking that the air was ripe for a good conversation.

"Chesterton? Highly overrated," Mr. Freet snorted. "A good stylist, but too air-headed. Spouting simplistic platitudes. Read Shaw. At least he had his head on straight." He made as if to leave, but suddenly stopped.... He leaned forward, a look of avid interest on his face.

Rose looked around, trying to figure out what he was looking at. But she saw something that made her forget about Mr. Freet. She clutched her sister's arm. "Look! Isn't that Bear?"

On the other side of the street, facing them and talking to an antique dealer, was a tall, burly figure in a black trench coat whose dark dreadlocks were covered by a leather motorcycle hat. He wore shades and had a tough-guy expression on his face, but Rose recognized him at once....

"Look, what's he doing?" Blanch exclaimed in a low voice.

Bear, talking to the antique dealer, had taken out something he had hidden in his trench coat. Gold glimmered in the early spring air....

A favorite excerpt

"Have you ever felt that there was something going on in life that not everyone was aware of?" Rose asked, turning her mug around in her hands.

Bear relaxed a bit more deeply into the couch, and put on a mock-solemn look. "explain thyself."

As though there's a story going on that everyone is a part of, but not everybody knows about? Maybe 'story' isn't the right word--a sort of drama, a battle between what's peripheral and what's really important. As though the people you meet aren't just their plain, prosaic selves, but are actually princes and princesses, gods and goddesses, fairies, shepherds, all sorts of fantastic creatures who've chosen to hide their real shape for some reason or another. Have you ever thought that?"

I love this book and I would highly recommend it. :)

Some Treasuries

My latest treasuries. I will post about Reformation Day tomorrow hopefully. :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ccc793236588eef792bcea4/fall-fashions?index=3

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ccc6c3136588eefd419cba4/im-wishing?index=3

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cce778863eb8eefbc5f74f1/lonely?index=2

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cce84a8b0d76d9103b42663/alone?index=1

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4cce8aee63eb8eefa63c76f1/stuff-of-fairy-tales