tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432042270184152172024-03-18T21:20:00.079-07:00inklings pressA few thoughts from Eowyn and ArwenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-55084308486261487222013-11-11T18:18:00.000-08:002013-11-11T18:18:22.149-08:00"I'm leaving now. I bid you all a very fond farewell."Okay, this is sad. My last post on Blogger.....<br />
<br />
*sniff*<br />
<br />
But, HEY, wait a minute! I'm not going away forever! No, no, no.<br />
<br />
Behold.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.inklingspress.wordpress.com/">I HAVE MOVED</a>.<br />
<br />
Why? Well, I think I can post more with my very own account over at Wordpress, instead of having to have my dad log in every time I want to post something or check for comments. (Believe me, it was getting old.) That's the main reason. The other reason is that I think I'd like something new.<br />
<br />
So. What do you think?<br />
<br />
Please, please, <em>please</em> follow me at my new blog. I would DEARLY love to keep you all - you're my bestest friends and I don't want to lose you!!<br />
<br />
Also. There's a very important announcement going on over there - EXCLUSIVELY over there. (And another friend's blog. But that's all I can say.) Tune in tomorrow!<br />
<br />
Anyway. I bid you all a very fond farewell.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.inklingspress.wordpress.com/">AND HOPE TO SEE YOU IN A MINUTE!!!</a><br />
<br />
-Eowyn-Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-13143280745238904872013-11-02T07:17:00.000-07:002013-11-02T07:20:39.674-07:00On NaNo and Curveballs<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3U8KqpsTeIgCvdlKMAotzL-CuDANni35Mni5yble1RJPLGie5zFwrLuprDn1vMmhcDprkMtyW8I9erjWWvbV4MSH1ghN5aeJADBq_OnNR1dbrsVujXcW-A277a-9St9B0_weHKP2qgBzp/s1600/IMG_9997-739675.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3U8KqpsTeIgCvdlKMAotzL-CuDANni35Mni5yble1RJPLGie5zFwrLuprDn1vMmhcDprkMtyW8I9erjWWvbV4MSH1ghN5aeJADBq_OnNR1dbrsVujXcW-A277a-9St9B0_weHKP2qgBzp/s320/IMG_9997-739675.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5941666528447776178" /></a></p><DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <DIV>I took this picture late at night on October 31st. I planned to post it as early as possible yesterday, November 1st, announcing to the world that I was doing NaNo.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I thought I was prepared.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Then, I got up yesterday morning and found out that my great-grandfather had passed away.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My plans for that day – this entire weekend, actually – were dissolved within seconds. Instead of babysitting for six hours, writing for two, then going to a bonfire at a friend's house, I babysat for three, then went to visit my grandparents and great-grandma.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And you know what? With each thing that I remembered I had wanted to – with each phone reminder that went off – I gave in a little more. By the end of the day, as I hit "Dismiss" on the last NaNo-related phone reminder, I had relented.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It was okay that I wasn't getting what I wanted to get done. It was okay that, instead of trying to figure out a good opening line for my fourth chapter, I was eating food that my great-grandma had placed before me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It's great to surrender. Sure, it's hard at first, but there are multiple blessings that come out of it when you've finally given God all of your expectations.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Even though I felt like I wasn't getting anything done as I rode in the car, I checked my word count at the end of the day – when Jarvis (my laptop) gave me a low battery warning – I had reached about a hundred words over my daily word count goal. No, it wasn't the five thousand words I had wanted to come out of the gate with, but God had seen fit to allow me to reach my word count.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And that's a blessing.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-Eowyn-</DIV></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-14963708277716123922013-10-22T07:58:00.000-07:002013-10-22T07:58:03.578-07:00So I was checking up on something earlier....<div style="text-align: center;">
...and found THIS.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyz1-MGc0UyNVcTJzi2UKz6PMzWDmYHy2lCye9J-z9pXW8ji6-nIQCCJ9imBQKeIjT3iS8Sg8dSxnI-4F0gtb-YsMUcegAt2x7TsIzvltGUupKWJh68plGAFXW6xY12WSoUebf1x1KSSmw/s1600/564567_10151698982283857_1239272537_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyz1-MGc0UyNVcTJzi2UKz6PMzWDmYHy2lCye9J-z9pXW8ji6-nIQCCJ9imBQKeIjT3iS8Sg8dSxnI-4F0gtb-YsMUcegAt2x7TsIzvltGUupKWJh68plGAFXW6xY12WSoUebf1x1KSSmw/s320/564567_10151698982283857_1239272537_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br />AND THIS.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgec7PZcaSyNwibLUhAIEWR7osjtMZuMLYT2QxZzlpYPS5uQCzFSSaNm9IYq1kuY45TULB5PGIVcy8zIDHg-JuegRksTjqCdYRXB8z0Kq-X39ev4HhFwOO6qjaxroh7e7qdqAOthHLIXYXD/s1600/1378538_10151698982388857_616997965_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgec7PZcaSyNwibLUhAIEWR7osjtMZuMLYT2QxZzlpYPS5uQCzFSSaNm9IYq1kuY45TULB5PGIVcy8zIDHg-JuegRksTjqCdYRXB8z0Kq-X39ev4HhFwOO6qjaxroh7e7qdqAOthHLIXYXD/s320/1378538_10151698982388857_616997965_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(And it just may or may not be on my desktop....)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Congrats, Hiddles and Hadley. You both just earned fifty awesome points.<br />
<br />
Can't wait for <a href="http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/ntlout5-coriolanus">Coriolanus</a>!!!<br />
<br />
~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-29799882919698527632013-10-21T11:42:00.000-07:002013-10-21T11:46:48.512-07:00Tveiter-tot Day!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhM7DH50vK14p3PO0MsoRZ0rBq2ItQgBOu4kKV-ipawzFPuUZPqS9MRW9Q7lCMJT-vD5JUyUIrVfLfWZtitRfRJllQ3CsJd6YhNxRMWhkj_G8lbaaHQZ1eNJXiTveqQiTZzZIx9_RbuV5/s1600/too+much+epicness...-708512.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhM7DH50vK14p3PO0MsoRZ0rBq2ItQgBOu4kKV-ipawzFPuUZPqS9MRW9Q7lCMJT-vD5JUyUIrVfLfWZtitRfRJllQ3CsJd6YhNxRMWhkj_G8lbaaHQZ1eNJXiTveqQiTZzZIx9_RbuV5/s320/too+much+epicness...-708512.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5937282093023409410" /></a></p><DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <DIV>(The above picture pretty much accurately portrays my fangirl life. Catch me, I'm falling....)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yes, I'm a Tveiter-tot. *nods*</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What is a Tveiter-tot, ye say? Well, I'll tell ya. A Tveiter-tot is a fan (a <EM>huge</EM> fan) of the actor Aaron Tveit (top picture, far right).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Moving on.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Today is Tveiter-tot Day because today is the Master of Awesomeness <EM>Himself</EM>'s birthday!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So....</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AARON!!!!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to make me some tater-tots and watch <EM>Enjolras: The Musical</EM>. (You can, too! Just pop in LesMis'12 and skip all the scenes that don't have Aaronjolras in them. You're welcome.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-Eowyn-</DIV></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-9506359417165351742013-10-12T09:53:00.000-07:002013-10-12T09:57:20.643-07:00ever had a day like this?<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM>"But... why?" I finally managed to ask.</EM></FONT></P> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM>Meg looked up at me and smiled sadly. "I have no idea. Maybe the author just wanted to increase her word count by making something bad happen to me. Why else would I be here?"</EM></FONT></P> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left>Gracious sakes, y'all. I've had a mild case of writer's block for the past few weeks.</P> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left>I can't find time to write, then, when I finally do, I can't figure out <EM>what</EM> to write! : (</P> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left>So. Here's my question: What do <EM>you</EM> do to get over writer's block? Do you drink a gallon of coffee? Eat a barrel of chocolate? Follow Dory's advice and "Just keep writing! Just keep writing!" no matter how awful it is? (That's what I did during NaNo last year.... Now I'm having to go through that novel and eradicate any extraneous <FONT color=#000000>obfuscations.)</FONT></P> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left>Leave a comment below with your tips – not just for me, but for anyone else who may be reading this!</P> <P lang=en-US style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in" align=left>-Eowyn-</P></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-3038009340783854762013-10-08T13:38:00.000-07:002013-10-08T13:42:37.811-07:00IMHO: Junior Novelizations<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <DIV><EM style="WORD-WRAP: break-word"><FONT face=Georgia><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11.5pt" color=#29303b>The In My Honest Opinion Series (IMHO) is a series of posts for the purpose of declaring my opinion on certain subjects. My honest opinion. (Yes, thank you, Mary.) These posts will be my totally unbiased, totally unaltered-on-any-grounds opinion. Each and every one of my readers are entitled to the right to comment below with their own opinion and an argument, if they so desire. Let us begin.</FONT></FONT></EM></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You've all seen them. They're those over-simplified novelizations of movies that are coming out. These books are released as much as two months ahead of the movie and they're <EM>full </EM>of SPOILERS.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I always see them at Target because I go there the most, but they're probably at all major bookstores.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I find them <EM>super annoying</EM>. I mean, what's the point??? Do the publishers think that they're going to boost their ticket sales by telling everyone the ENTIRE plot of an upcoming movie?!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I usually just look at the pictures. Which is what I did earlier today, when my brother and I stopped at Target for some items. Anyway. We looked in the back for a certain CD full of songs from a certain blonde guy named Aaronjolras. (It wasn't there. *sad face*)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I turned a corner and there they were. <EM>Frozen</EM> books. Now, I did what I usually do – went for the junior novelization, <EM>straight</EM> to the middle, and was pleased to see some new pictures. Like always, no spoilers. I was happy.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>However. Then, I made the mistake of looking at the toddler version for more pictures. Sadly, my gaze fell upon a certain word describing a certain picture.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My heart probably missed a few beats as it dropped to my shoes.<EM> 'Noooooo!!'</EM> I thought, utterly horrified at the mistake I'd made.<EM> </EM>'<EM>I can't believe I read that!'</EM></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'll end by saying this: DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, READ THOSE JUNIOR NOVELIZATIONS!!! Or even the coloring books or the toddler versions!!! If you want the plot of <EM>Frozen</EM>, or the plot of any upcoming movie, for that matter, to stay oblivious to you... Heed. My. Warning.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That is all.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Go see <EM>Frozen</EM>. If not for Idina Menzel, go see it for Santino Fontana. Cuz they're both awesome.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That is all.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-Eowyn-</DIV></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-88972338748593179942013-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:002013-09-26T09:00:07.964-07:00Interview with Author Kendra E. Ardnek!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2klP9AhouuWwb547UDy1Tnp6DrAA2aNtfeveH1ID0c-he0eHurQ974yvrcPWi0m56V-WZh1bOO8ghQjmVmHXI6s7Y746zQXjCO9rPUqnFwlde4nil8p9fug79cc5kyFXxPCdyq-tSQLz/s1600/100_1761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2klP9AhouuWwb547UDy1Tnp6DrAA2aNtfeveH1ID0c-he0eHurQ974yvrcPWi0m56V-WZh1bOO8ghQjmVmHXI6s7Y746zQXjCO9rPUqnFwlde4nil8p9fug79cc5kyFXxPCdyq-tSQLz/s320/100_1761.JPG" width="230" /></a>Kendra E. Ardnek is the author of many books, four of which are published. I had the honor of interviewing her to celebrate the publishing of her fourth novel, <em>The Ankulen</em>.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em>1. I’m so excited to be
interviewing an author again and sharing about another wonderful novel with my
blog! First of all, tell me about yourself.</em></div>
Hello there! I'm a eighteen
year old author of four self-published books, <i>The Ankulen</i> being my
newest, and the eldest of four siblings. I fell in love with stories before I
could talk (and I was an early talker, incidentally) and started writing them as
soon as I figured out how. I published my first book at the age of sixteen.
Fantasy is my favorite genre, thanks to an overdose of Fairy Tales and
Nutcracker as a child. I blog at <a href="wlmailhtml:{4554288C-8BA7-40A8-B17F-12ABFC85E603}mid://00000650/!x-usc:http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/">knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com</a>
and my official site is <a href="wlmailhtml:{4554288C-8BA7-40A8-B17F-12ABFC85E603}mid://00000650/!x-usc:http://kendraeardnek.weebly.com/">kendraeardnek.weebly.com</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em>2. In a nutshell, what
is The Ankulen about?</em></div>
(I'm resisting the urge to
make a snide, nutshell-themed joke here)<br />
The text on the back of the
cover reads, "<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: black;">Fifteen-year-old Jen can't remember her imagination. She knows she
had one once, though, and honestly, she'd like it back. It's been eight years.
One day she finds a young boy who claims to be one of her imaginary friends and
that her imaginary world is being eaten by a hydra-like monster called the
Polystoikhedron. He helps her find the Ankulen, a special bracelet that had
given the ability to bring her imagination to life and together they embark on a
quest to find friendship, healing, and perhaps even some
family."</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em> 3. Speaking of the title,
I’m sure a lot of my readers are wondering what on earth an “Ankulen” is. Care
to enlighten them?</em></div>
In short, an Ankulen is a
piece of jewelry that brings imagination to life. Jen's is a bracelet, mine is a
ring. The owner is called an Anka or Anku, depending on whether they're a girl
or a guy.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em>4. I’ve always enjoyed the
stories of how authors came up with ideas for their novels. What inspired you
to write The Ankulen?</em></div>
This book began as a play
that my younger cousin wanted to perform at our next family get together. We
were both really into acting, and we had a "stage" in our backyard (Actually it
was part of a really expensive bed, but it worked!), so we wanted to do
something together. So we assigned ourselves names (I was Jenifer and he was
Chris) and started making stuff up as we went along.<br />
We could never come up with
an ending that we could pull off with our limited special effects, so eventually
we gave up. But the idea wouldn't go away. Eventually I decided to change it
into a book, and in January of last year, I pulled up a word document, started
typing, and never looked back.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em> 5. Are you working on any
other novels so far?</em></div>
Several. Right now I'm
focusing on three. <i>My Kingdom for a Quest, </i>the third book in my <i>Bookania
Quests </i>series which is my personal retellings and mash-ups of various myths,
legends, and fairy tales. <i>Worth of a King, </i>which I'm co-writing with a
friend, is the story of a pair of royal twins who were separated at birth, he to
be raised as a peasant, she as a princess and the intended of the son of their
father's assassin. <i>Water Princess, Fire Prince,</i> the first book in my
<i>Rizkaland Legends, </i>which are hard to explain without comparing them to
Narnia and Oz, which sounds cheesy<i>.</i> The next book I plan to publish,
however, is a short story collection.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em> 6. Do you listen to music
when you write? If so, what kind? What’s in your current favorite
playlist?</em></div>
Not often. Sometimes I'll
pull out my MP3 player and listen to a playlist that I've set up, but I've never
noticed any real change in my writing for either positive or negative. When I do
listen, my playlist is made of some Mozart, some songs from "Songs from a Broken
Heart" (look them up - they're really good Christian group, all the ones I've
listened to are theologically sound, and they're all FREE), and the songs off my
Isaac's CD. (A Christian Bluegrass group).<br />
<em></em><br />
<em> 7. Do you like to drink
coffee, tea, water, or anything else while you write? What about chocolate???
: )</em><br />
Call me a strange author, but
I can't stand coffee, and there are only a few teas that I will drink. I do like
some lemon tea during the winter, but that's because I get really bad sore
throats. I always have water on my desk, because I don't want to dehydrate
myself.<br />
As for chocolate, I can take
it or leave it. I'm more of a vanilla person. I'll drink hot chocolate, and if
you give me chocolate, I'll probably eat it, but I prefer white chocolate. On
another note, I really like hot apple cider, but I don't get it as often as I
would like.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em>8. Besides writing, what are
some of your other hobbies?</em></div>
Knitting, crochet, various
other handcrafts (but not sewing - embroidery I can don, but add a machine and
I'm lost), pretending I'm an artist, putting together 500+ piece puzzles,
helping my younger siblings in school, cooking, washing the dishes, building
sand castles, growing herbs ... oh ... so I do have a life outside of my writing
...<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px;">
<em>9. Tell me about the latest
book you read!</em></div>
The last book I finished was
<i>Abolished Impracticality, </i>which I was beta reading for a friend of mine.
It's the unpublished second book of her steampunk series. It's a good series, I
highly recommend it.<br />
<br />
<em>10. What’s some advice you
would give to an aspiring author?</em><br />
Don't talk about writing.
Write. And read, both the classics and modern works. If you don't read, you
forget how the written word is supposed to look. Classics because they're good
enough to last, modern because you want to know what people want to read
now.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks, Kendra!<br />
<br />
I hope you'll all go and buy <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ankulen-Kendra-E-Ardnek/dp/149211359X/ref=la_B005GGULBQ_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380068934&sr=1-2">The Ankulen</a></em>. It's a great book!<br />
<br />
~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-18757595635514153202013-09-25T12:15:00.000-07:002013-09-25T15:11:29.838-07:00Celebrate Musicals Week Tag!<div dir="ltr">
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">
<div lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, this week is Celebrate Musicals Week, hosted by Amy over at </span><a href="http://miss-dashwood.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yet Another Period Drama Blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">. We're supposed to do at least three posts on a musical we've picked to celebrate, but I've been extremely busy and will be really busy this week, so I'll be lucky if I get two posts done. Be happy with two posts on one musical and my IMHO post on <em>Wicked</em>. (Green yet?)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Onwards with the tag questions!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">1. What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why?</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>Daddy-Long-Legs.</i> I picked it because I think it's one of the lesser-known musicals out there (being an off-off-Broadway musical...), and I think it needs to be talked about more! (I'm going to leave most of the talking about it for later this week as it's very late and I don't want to give up too many details! I don't care if you look up the musical yet or not. But I guarantee.... You'll want to by the time I post my review.)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Basically, the story is about a girl named Jerusha Abbott (awful name, I know...) who is the oldest orphan in the John Grier Home, a home for orphans. (Yes, thank you, Mary.) One of the trustees of the Home decides to pay for Jerusha's education on the condition that she write to him once a month telling him about the things she's learning and that she doesn't know who he is. The musical goes on through the next four years and follows Jerusha's education, her letters to Daddy-Long-Legs (the name she gave to her benefactor because she saw his long shadow as he was leaving the Home and decided he must be very tall), and her relationship with Jervis Pendleton, the young uncle of one of the girls in Jerusha's dorm.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">2. How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(Heehee.... I consider <em>Daddy-Long-Legs</em> to be my musical already cuz I love it so much and I feel like I'm one of the only people on the planet who know about it!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, I read the book by<em> </em>Jean Webster of the same title and instantly fell in love with the story, the method of writing, and Jerusha Abbott!</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">3. If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Oh, golly Pete. Only three?!?!?! Fiiiiine.... In <em><u>no particular order</u></em>, here they are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'I Have Torn You From My Heart'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'Lock Willow'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'Mr. Girl-Hater'</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">4. What's your least favorite song from your musical?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I literally do not have a least favorite. They're ALL good!! If you held a knife to my throat and <em>made</em> me pick, Amy, I'd pick.... 'The Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home.' Because it's just the introduction to the musical and, listening to it for the first time, you have no idea how great it's going to get!</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">5. Who are your favorite characters (choose up to three)?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, considering this musical only has two.... *cough* Jerusha Abbott and Jarvis Pendleton. C :</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">6. Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, I've listened to the Original Cast Recording (which is the only recording out there) and the other three actors who have starred in it. I like the original the most.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">7. Is this your favorite musical of all time? If not, what is?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">No, but it's probably tied for third with <em>Cinderella</em>. My favorite musical of all time is <em>Les Miserables</em>. Just because. (Second favorites are <em>Phantom of the Opera</em> and <em>Wicked</em>.)</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">8. Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(Instead of repeating my answer to #6, I'll assume you mean my entire collection of musical soundtracks.) Either <em>Daddy-Long-Legs, Little Women, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid, The Lord of the Rings</em> (YES, there IS such a thing!), or <em>Annie</em>. XD</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">9. What is your favorite costume from your musical?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Hmmm.... I dunno! I really like all of Jerusha's outfits. They're so pretty!</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">10. If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The fact that it's only being preformed in Japan and the West Coast at the moment. Yes, Cosette... this is true. *weeps*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong>11. Which role(s) would you most like to play in </strong><strong><u>any</u></strong><strong> musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Meg Giry. It's a small enough role that I don't have to blow the audience away with, but big enough that, HELLO, I'M IN A MUSICAL!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I'd also like to play Elphaba, G(a)linda, Jerusha, Christine, Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Fantine, Cosette, Eponine, Ariel, or someone else. C :</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">12. If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I'd pick Megan McGinnis to be Jerusha again because she was just soooo good in the Original Cast Album!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And Aaron Tveit could be Jervis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">It would be epicness.</span></div>
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<br /><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">13. Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I'm a musical theatre BUFF. Hello, I asked to go to NYC to see a musical on Broadway for my graduation present!! I LOVE musicals. They're astonishing and they've changed me for good. C :</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">14. Are you tired of the word "musical" yet?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">NO. And I NEVER WILL BE.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">15. Turn your music playing device on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have one) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating! How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'Drink With Me' from the 10thAC of Les Mis. I love this song and this version. : ) Ummm.... It's probably one of my top-ten favorite songs from Les Mis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'She's In Love' from <i>The Little Mermaid: The Musical.</i> LOVE IT! I think this is my second or third favorite song from this musical. (The first being 'If Only.' Sighhhh....)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'Off to Massachussets' from <i>Little Women: The Musical</i>. I love this musical! I didn't love this song until I listened to <i>Daddy-Long-Legs</i> and realized that Megan McGinnis, who plays Jerusha, plays Beth in the Original Cast Recording of <i>Little Women</i>! WOOT!</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Which brings me to </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>Daddy-Long-Legs</i>. Y'all are going to love it. My review should be posted by the end of this week!</span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">~Eowy</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">n~</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-40033259643672484942013-09-24T18:39:00.000-07:002013-09-24T18:39:42.860-07:00IMHO: Wicked<em>The In My Honest Opinion Series (IMHO) is a series of posts for the purpose of declaring my opinion on certain subjects. My honest opinion. (Yes, thank you, Mary.) These posts will be my totally unbiased, totally unaltered-on-any-grounds opinion. Each and every one of my readers are entitled to the right to comment below with their own opinion and an argument, if they so desire. Let us begin.</em><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1A2f5PZP7cTJbK-pSYWpub1NosPhearGWLbr0RZn9HwF5nX_CigTK-9LUbBx6QInl_qrsCgR5CZhPHqiIN3RmE_JqGNlQMhoQaKaCUmiOY9i3by-2dfrcRSadiSVmXr4xcz64O8WTc_c/s1600/IMG_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1A2f5PZP7cTJbK-pSYWpub1NosPhearGWLbr0RZn9HwF5nX_CigTK-9LUbBx6QInl_qrsCgR5CZhPHqiIN3RmE_JqGNlQMhoQaKaCUmiOY9i3by-2dfrcRSadiSVmXr4xcz64O8WTc_c/s320/IMG_1486.JPG" width="320" /></a>(Behold. The first IMHO post! Seems fitting that a series that has been in my mind so long should start with my now-tied-for-second-favorite musical, <em>Wicked</em>. C :)<br />
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The synopsis of <em>Wicked</em> could probably be very (very, <em>very</em>) summarized by saying that it's about what happened Before Dorothy Dropped In.<br />
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<em>Wicked</em> is the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and G(a)linda, the Good Witch of the North, and how they became friends. They start out simply loathing each other and taking things that don't belong to them, then ending up both being changed for good. (Brownie points for everyone who knows how many quotes I just quoted!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFN1uWxRQsRcRXDf-lL-CoxSb5uN6IpTWU9h532-O8S6yliik3yhXOjXLBtlSKsZOKgICAEr8WtQifgdf1RpM5d8iujLBCZ_cyL8ikyvCAxskeKCar1lN9I97tumJSc9XkIkoRO80CrzU/s1600/IMG_1524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFN1uWxRQsRcRXDf-lL-CoxSb5uN6IpTWU9h532-O8S6yliik3yhXOjXLBtlSKsZOKgICAEr8WtQifgdf1RpM5d8iujLBCZ_cyL8ikyvCAxskeKCar1lN9I97tumJSc9XkIkoRO80CrzU/s320/IMG_1524.JPG" width="320" /></a>I had never seen <em>Wicked</em> before seeing it on Broadway (which is the <em>best</em> place to see a musical for the first time, btdubs!!), but I'd heard a few of the songs. Namely because of <a href="http://oftrimsandfrillsandfurbelows.blogspot.com/">Ally</a>. C : Anyway, when I heard that I was going to be able to see a musical on Broadway (then wheedled my way into seeing two, muahahaha...), I first thought of <em>Wicked</em>.<br />
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Before seeing it, the only things I knew about it were a) it had been running on Broadway since 2003, peeps, b) the two (give or take) songs I'd listened to from it were astonishing (excuse the quote from another musical), c) my friend saw it when she was in NYC yeeeears ago and said it was good, and d) many people who had seen it or listened to it that I knew and respected (*cough*Ally*cough*) absolutely loved it.<br />
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So I thought, <em>'Heyyyy.... Might as well, deeds!'</em> (Okay, enough quoting from things other than <em>Wicked</em>!)<br />
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<strong>Now we come to the IMHO part.</strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtks4PamR4YImZO1ArV5Rhpq_thHozRo_N2nL6Nfy9XOpU5z1k0wsDL6Zeabvs62SgTpYF-mz87VPo-O1Pf2KJFDGc38C3ZzYuUGhMLnmOTDeFzsBNJPxJr4VGrGJd5ohUbhD6kACzybOl/s1600/IMG_1488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtks4PamR4YImZO1ArV5Rhpq_thHozRo_N2nL6Nfy9XOpU5z1k0wsDL6Zeabvs62SgTpYF-mz87VPo-O1Pf2KJFDGc38C3ZzYuUGhMLnmOTDeFzsBNJPxJr4VGrGJd5ohUbhD6kACzybOl/s320/IMG_1488.JPG" width="213" /></a>I LOVED IT.<br />
<br />
From the opening notes (y'all know what I'm talking about) to the closing of the curtain after the bows, I was totally enraptured in all of it.<br />
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I loved a great many things about this musical. First of all, I LOVED my cast. Lindsay Mendez (GRACIOUS SAKES.... she had SUCH a powerful voice!), Tiffany Haas (who was an understudy, by the way, and I won't go into my theory in understudies and just say that, nine times out of ten, I've observed they play the part better than the person who is actually cast for the role!), Derek Klena (WOW.... Let me just say.... his "Let the green girl go!" was allllllmost as good as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38weA4Tousg">Aaron's</a>!), Carol Kane (as Madame Morrible.... Don't recognize her name? Does "Humperdink, Humperdink, Humperdink!" ring a bell???) and allll the rest.... I was literally just BLOWN AWAY.<br />
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During the intermission, my dad and I stepped out to get a drink (non-alcoholic....), my dad looked at me and said, "Wow.... That was actually.... pretty good." That made me really surprised, cuz, HELLO, this is the guy who watches most of the movies I love and hold dear to my heart and says they're "cute."<br />
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I won't go through all of the songs and tell you which were my favorite (I'll just list the ones I really like - <em>No One Mourns the Wicked</em> through <em>Finale: For Good (Reprise)</em>!), I'll just say that I loved all of them. C : The one I sing the most, howevs, is probably <em>The Wizard and I</em>. Just cuz. C :<br />
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<strong>Now for the extremely biased part.</strong><br />
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I hope you guys agree with me about how amazing this was after seeing all of these videos. If not, feel free to start a comment war. I have my caps lock ON.)<br />
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<em>Lindsay Mendez singing 'The Wizard and I'</em></div>
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<em>Derek Klena and Lindsay Mendez singing 'As Long As You're Mine'</em></div>
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<em>Lindsay Mendez singing 'No Good Deed'</em></div>
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(Hey... I really love her voice....)</div>
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<em>Tiffany Haas singing 'Popular'</em> (with Anne Brummel)</div>
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<em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLLS7NpQFn0">Derek Klena singing 'Along the Way'</a></em></div>
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(Not from <em>Wicked</em>, obviously, but it gives you a glimpse of what a great voice he has!)</div>
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(I can't post this video here.... : ((((( Just click the link. Click it. Do it.)</div>
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<em>Tiffany Haas and Lindsay Mendez singing 'What Is This Feeling?'</em></div>
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(The picture is of the best cast EVAH)</div>
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I wishwishwiiiiish there was a video of them singing this.... They played off each other soooo well!!!</div>
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And here are some pictures to make y'all completely and totally jealous. C :</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMfCVT3PGi1a-dzfpC4dhJZriRsu_fwMVhNpr0DW6KEYKbY4yQVbLOw7207LXPO7X_EafmKRFC5I4kQFpTdUugOogxn_0NfC0BdtZKUsHIjWiALjgi68J4ps6nIG90W9ciHTWgnSt2sEC/s1600/IMG_1494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMfCVT3PGi1a-dzfpC4dhJZriRsu_fwMVhNpr0DW6KEYKbY4yQVbLOw7207LXPO7X_EafmKRFC5I4kQFpTdUugOogxn_0NfC0BdtZKUsHIjWiALjgi68J4ps6nIG90W9ciHTWgnSt2sEC/s320/IMG_1494.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The usual cast....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_JUdcOUwweBR5BszOKrKxIOPqKllrRRhoqXd7S3htTLlr344XIHm3eanVu4khBsW2n9sx_i0-XQv25Dddjh_cauCC_eZ3p-Yx_4dHr-9afHAtSH3gfzBKrFGMIms3JYvt8K7nvhXteuN/s1600/IMG_1498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_JUdcOUwweBR5BszOKrKxIOPqKllrRRhoqXd7S3htTLlr344XIHm3eanVu4khBsW2n9sx_i0-XQv25Dddjh_cauCC_eZ3p-Yx_4dHr-9afHAtSH3gfzBKrFGMIms3JYvt8K7nvhXteuN/s320/IMG_1498.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plus one of the sweetest ladies on the planet!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXL-bMYfJvj9yuXZKAOHJH3heAclthlmayzpSI3dgIfTcehMtqaghfUabfcSEqE862nQTey5E9n47rMv0hTN0sCL-Ucfc202qa0JN7uVifHuhMyHdtPJm5brsgEX6zT68fpxo8M7gUUef/s1600/IMG_1500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXL-bMYfJvj9yuXZKAOHJH3heAclthlmayzpSI3dgIfTcehMtqaghfUabfcSEqE862nQTey5E9n47rMv0hTN0sCL-Ucfc202qa0JN7uVifHuhMyHdtPJm5brsgEX6zT68fpxo8M7gUUef/s320/IMG_1500.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wall was painted with the map of Oz.<br />
And everything in the theater was green, which, if any of you really know me, you'll know it's my favorite color.<br />
So I was literally in heaven. C :</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGP0SnnD4n1WTZBJ_5NsL3CLbgaLj6mOJ-gv-98agal33MwQeMTy9sIBRk2tQVDPCAhQNYl1vFsEzdYTMx_nWnp0f_wq96tb6rtcVi0DKtwX371khOIn89lXgFP0nxVW3KWY4yPTAQNCO/s1600/IMG_1518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGP0SnnD4n1WTZBJ_5NsL3CLbgaLj6mOJ-gv-98agal33MwQeMTy9sIBRk2tQVDPCAhQNYl1vFsEzdYTMx_nWnp0f_wq96tb6rtcVi0DKtwX371khOIn89lXgFP0nxVW3KWY4yPTAQNCO/s320/IMG_1518.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The staaaage....</td></tr>
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Okay, this is too cool to be in a caption. We were right on the edge of the balcony, front Mezz left, and we had a reeeeally good view of practically everything. The rope hanging from the ceiling on the far right was where the first personal flying monkey (sorry.... couldn't resist!) came down, the black shape on the stage to the right of it is a small trap door, and the ramp on the right of the stage leads down to another trap door which the cast uses frequently. When I took the picture, I was like, "It's a TRAPDOOR, DAD! This is going to be AWESOME!!!"</div>
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<strong>Meeting the Cast. C :</strong></div>
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(If you're already turning green [heehee.... green....], you can just stop now. Cuz it'll only get worse.)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Catherine Charlebois, who played Nessarose. So good!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Derek Klena, who played Fiyero. (Stop gushing, KarMarie....)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Tiffany Haas, who played G(a)linda. She was so sweet! She stayed and talked with my dad and I for the longest. : )</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Lindsay Mendez, who played the green girl herself!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stuffs I got. C :</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcpLbuZ4L5D88h_8MxV06dL5WZtWRbsrgV56fmNuk36nH_LyB9eTXBWTjkYxP2it6-_k0PgkudULiNmy9fIzrw_r8txzkgQIfR7GWXMKa9k3_1kL1RLAK_agqVR2F3nVkgrUCJj3APGumB/s1600/IMG_1972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcpLbuZ4L5D88h_8MxV06dL5WZtWRbsrgV56fmNuk36nH_LyB9eTXBWTjkYxP2it6-_k0PgkudULiNmy9fIzrw_r8txzkgQIfR7GWXMKa9k3_1kL1RLAK_agqVR2F3nVkgrUCJj3APGumB/s320/IMG_1972.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My autographed Playbill. (Which is an ACTUAL Playbill, by the way!!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsCIPj-XTQnhyphenhyphenDMRrW8wg3BXGxYl3eoTK7Jd33_azpb8EbATM62pU2XE6OeKivz5K5fQnvcTHRKzekSxnqfLRwKPZEc7QMOTRVAzlVXYGuXSBEtegjlfG7DyroYAMd-pkA7GA46dYV1PZ/s1600/inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsCIPj-XTQnhyphenhyphenDMRrW8wg3BXGxYl3eoTK7Jd33_azpb8EbATM62pU2XE6OeKivz5K5fQnvcTHRKzekSxnqfLRwKPZEc7QMOTRVAzlVXYGuXSBEtegjlfG7DyroYAMd-pkA7GA46dYV1PZ/s320/inside.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My autographed Playbill, cont'd.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-kgsK2VzlFrv3FDX45M3KlIu8znQdZxKIPCUoBdK_nDZ5d7wFom9qp6eaNNV_usIUVfCddxm2lESDd_ZEtaQIB5pNVuGC9RBLAsAfrHLFFf8MYw06VIhQ51dRNxrgC2XWuHhU67sqb0y/s1600/IMG_1980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-kgsK2VzlFrv3FDX45M3KlIu8znQdZxKIPCUoBdK_nDZ5d7wFom9qp6eaNNV_usIUVfCddxm2lESDd_ZEtaQIB5pNVuGC9RBLAsAfrHLFFf8MYw06VIhQ51dRNxrgC2XWuHhU67sqb0y/s320/IMG_1980.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cup that is ONLY sold at the Gershwin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNT9XvP-hYYdcPyLx-jM8l7cAyDI1KAL0cXneCxr_4Ld0z-acjAqRd2Q4z2dqv4TkFuCfec3DOMLLFtuOzTjvDyXGzZFfZjfTWmenWKp6OhK4XTVfVgtibJ7TYI1eQ1gYwuTlLbUE-NUv/s1600/IMG_1981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNT9XvP-hYYdcPyLx-jM8l7cAyDI1KAL0cXneCxr_4Ld0z-acjAqRd2Q4z2dqv4TkFuCfec3DOMLLFtuOzTjvDyXGzZFfZjfTWmenWKp6OhK4XTVfVgtibJ7TYI1eQ1gYwuTlLbUE-NUv/s320/IMG_1981.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I use it every day. No joke.</td></tr>
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Well, that's <em>Wicked</em>. IMHO.<br />
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Care to comment?<br />
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~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-24913609346646199622013-09-06T19:14:00.001-07:002013-09-06T19:14:57.962-07:00NYC: Day Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(Sorry it's taken me so long... School.... Anywhoz, here bees Day Two!)</div>
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<strong>Day Two: Wonders Like I've Never Seen</strong></div>
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Dad and I got up semi-early, visited the post office next door, and started making our way into the city. There was literally <em>so</em> much to see.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQc3180S7rAHPmtjnxZZKnfZLDDmeK80bHXIsfpl1gATgqd-o1VRxm5jZqtpd-t8uPpiCT101EziBRsW2UQFkaQEfB84PmIAQ25feUdk0iamlhzdrPAaddRB5VbpAslmcIJHNV_bfP4UK/s1600/IMG_1416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQc3180S7rAHPmtjnxZZKnfZLDDmeK80bHXIsfpl1gATgqd-o1VRxm5jZqtpd-t8uPpiCT101EziBRsW2UQFkaQEfB84PmIAQ25feUdk0iamlhzdrPAaddRB5VbpAslmcIJHNV_bfP4UK/s320/IMG_1416.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macy's. THE Macy's. I'm not a shopper, but if any of you are... be jealous. C :</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9a8nyTYcKkC4mrsrec6aViNvCSW5X8puXIVYPzT9FgzTbamPpap39-9ilTP3virTtP_Vrb3WVsSDHcb3bB7DtrkTeGaIRPDQ9VpH-xqIFpYc_L3-LOS8N_oNV4VK-VmoFrogCjyijdtG/s1600/IMG_1417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9a8nyTYcKkC4mrsrec6aViNvCSW5X8puXIVYPzT9FgzTbamPpap39-9ilTP3virTtP_Vrb3WVsSDHcb3bB7DtrkTeGaIRPDQ9VpH-xqIFpYc_L3-LOS8N_oNV4VK-VmoFrogCjyijdtG/s320/IMG_1417.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Empire State Building!</td></tr>
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The Empire State Building was soooo tall!! It's great to look at from the ground... which is where I wanted to stay... so it was all good. : )<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyE4KhER8GDAnaXrJKAo4XLMgz9M5DEbI85MVqhA08e8gh6Xl_wmOkic61k1gDSpyULyPhx7crG5iK3tzz-Bap1VSfTWxkHur_qSf_IvsPj5vjy3Bnw0HcdK_HSweSd5o4jW5yfMJiNM0Q/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyE4KhER8GDAnaXrJKAo4XLMgz9M5DEbI85MVqhA08e8gh6Xl_wmOkic61k1gDSpyULyPhx7crG5iK3tzz-Bap1VSfTWxkHur_qSf_IvsPj5vjy3Bnw0HcdK_HSweSd5o4jW5yfMJiNM0Q/s320/IMG_1426.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Starbucks on the first floor of The Empire State Building. (I got Arwen a NYC mug from here, and she "LOVES IT!" She claims she alternates between it and her North Carolina one.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgig1f2MqqmDWg4Md7Tj_KBsgPsQgA2jOO6XSHVfuNmQbgZUaEDXTFcOdeTY1Uaz10ePTcXbII2NpMRx4UGBUEmy-GYtgt_KCBZkiv2FsFMB4jK5ObrTTzRT5J-mg4zl3ma96BmiGpi6tw/s1600/IMG_1434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgig1f2MqqmDWg4Md7Tj_KBsgPsQgA2jOO6XSHVfuNmQbgZUaEDXTFcOdeTY1Uaz10ePTcXbII2NpMRx4UGBUEmy-GYtgt_KCBZkiv2FsFMB4jK5ObrTTzRT5J-mg4zl3ma96BmiGpi6tw/s320/IMG_1434.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Central Station! Celebrating 100 years.</td></tr>
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Before I go on, I need to explain something. My mom is a <em>huge</em> Meg Ryan fan, and after we got a ClearPlay (best. thing. ever.), she showed us <em>You've Got Mail</em>. Gracious, I was addicted the first time I saw it! I mean, what's not to like?! Anastasia and Woody fall in love over the 90's internet!! Anyway. It was set in NYC, and after I found out that I was going there, I started making a list of the places it was filmed and making Dad <em>promise</em> we could go. We didn't visit Café Lalo ("Well... if you don't like Kathleen Kelly, I can tell you right now... you ain't gonna like this girl.") or Riverside Park on 91st Street (where the famous "Brinkley!" scene was filmed), but we <em>did</em> make it to Bryant Park, where they went through and bought a mango, among other things, and made plans to bump into each other "over there." : ) Great scene. : ) (Disclaimer: There's some language/objectionable content/STUFF in <em>You've Got Mail</em> that isn't really great, so... yeah. Totally recommended if you have a ClearPlay or MommyPlay. I might even do a review. It's that good.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sooo pretty!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GB21spsxm4hyphenhyphenJYZZdZ9JFVxBK6dK0_Cv8NpL4UihTaClfOYapaiyNQE175qDYZ7fWZyUxNylaIY8VUul32nLkFwEHyJDvR0pDxeIe47Gh9YfaWyU2cv7O1eE73TyoWcYAcChCwB7U9kL/s1600/IMG_1439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GB21spsxm4hyphenhyphenJYZZdZ9JFVxBK6dK0_Cv8NpL4UihTaClfOYapaiyNQE175qDYZ7fWZyUxNylaIY8VUul32nLkFwEHyJDvR0pDxeIe47Gh9YfaWyU2cv7O1eE73TyoWcYAcChCwB7U9kL/s320/IMG_1439.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stage. As in, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls5pByPjKSo">this</a> stage. Totally totally spazzing out (to borrow a phrase that a friend uses frequently) when I took this picture!!! Aaron was here!!!</td></tr>
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This place is just so gorgeous! It's a quiet haven in the middle of all of NYC's craziness.</div>
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Behold. I WAS THERE. : ) After walking around the whole park and discovering that there weren't any benches, Dad just took my picture in front of a fence. : )</div>
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We left Bryant Park, got a little lost, then headed towards Times Square.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE PLACE WHERE THE BALL DROPS!!! (And they keep the year up there just in case the Doctor comes and wants to know what year it is or something....)</td></tr>
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Every major Broadway production had its own bus that they put their ads on. So excited!! <em>Cinderella</em> didn't have a whole bus, and it drove by before I could take a picture. : (<br />
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Okay, so then we went into the Disney Store. (I'm a child at heart. C :) It was two floors - the first one had Disney/NYC stuff (which I browsed for longer than I needed to but didn't buy) and <em>Monsters University</em> paraphernalia. There was an escalator to go upstairs to the (HUGE) second floor. Check out what was above it!<br />
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TANGLED LANTERNS!! It was hard to take a picture while you're going down. They look a ton better in real life.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5PvvVcl-mJ0CSDGdxQE_aJNOjQ-AZFQtZvgUG0bhtY7fSog89gfhu6r6VWY2kMCZZSSoPRVpi2U2t03ZSFvinTK24D1RQJfbcXsieaRuYT63LKFISmLp94rUeGb4nVTfWPYPULF3gfXq/s1600/IMG_1479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5PvvVcl-mJ0CSDGdxQE_aJNOjQ-AZFQtZvgUG0bhtY7fSog89gfhu6r6VWY2kMCZZSSoPRVpi2U2t03ZSFvinTK24D1RQJfbcXsieaRuYT63LKFISmLp94rUeGb4nVTfWPYPULF3gfXq/s320/IMG_1479.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hershey Store!!<br />
To the right, outside of the frame, was the M&M Store. Heehee....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where we ate dinner. Sooooo good!</td></tr>
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We stopped to eat lunch before our 2pm showing of <em>Wicked</em> (GAHHHH!!!!) at about noon and didn't want to be late. We had no idea where we were in relation to the Gershwin and I wanted to be there by 1:15 (to allow time for fangirly gushing over the theater), so we just stopped and decided we'd find it later. When I was done eating, I decided to take a picture of the sign, looked out the window in front of me, and CHECK OUT WHAT I SAW.<br />
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GAHHHHH!!!!! I was literally bouncing in my seat, pointing it out to Dad. We left the pizza place and headed towards the Gershwin.</div>
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Okay, so I uploaded all of my <em>Wicked </em>pictures, then decided that it needed its own post. I mean, TOO MUCH AWESOMENESS!!!! Seriously. (I then took all the photos down and found out that they made up of, like, <em>half</em> my post! Ha!) So that post will be posted SOON. I can't wait to tell you all what I thought, so it'll definitely be soon!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOProdYPYETouCA11ggpncrkM6eKKXWYcnu2FlsdReG5Cb-L5W3Cd3iVAzbCDBmA2Ze5DO79LvK9-X-mr2VXFAcV4AvqYmrS2nilF5jAuzBgMrJWY6IW687og7qnl9xZpXC4sdcR_Sp6X/s1600/IMG_1538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOProdYPYETouCA11ggpncrkM6eKKXWYcnu2FlsdReG5Cb-L5W3Cd3iVAzbCDBmA2Ze5DO79LvK9-X-mr2VXFAcV4AvqYmrS2nilF5jAuzBgMrJWY6IW687og7qnl9xZpXC4sdcR_Sp6X/s320/IMG_1538.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ate dinner at Carnegie Deli, where we had a huuuuuuge sandwich! So yummy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's Largest Hershey Bar in the Hershey Store! Stopped in here to get a Reese's shirt for my younger sister, "Beatrice."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ads in Times Square were just.... awesome. : )</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See what I mean??? Cinderella and Newsies!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The theater for The Lion King! My grandma saw it when she went to NYC and loved it so much, she's taking us to see it next year!! (Unfortunately, not in NYC. Someday, Grandma - SOMEDAY!!!)</td></tr>
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After scoping out the area to find the Broadway Theater where <em>Cinderella</em> was playing, we walked back to the hotel, got our luggage, and went to our second hotel....<br />
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...Which was <em>significantly</em> smaller. I enjoyed it, though! They had a "Galley" on each floor where you could make chai tea and cappuccinos. I had a mocha cappuccino every night and peppermint tea every morning. Sooooo yummy....</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our window!</td></tr>
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Sadly, that's the end of Day Two. It seems soooo short because I took out all my <em>Wicked</em> pictures. : ( Next time, my fellow Ozians - next time!</div>
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~Eowyn~</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-63574870347844378822013-08-28T17:47:00.000-07:002013-08-28T17:47:13.252-07:00"life goes on...."Wellsies. How have y'all been? My life has been just a little short of crazy lately, but still pretty awesome. : )<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did a photo shoot of this little cutie pie the other day. Care to see more?</td></tr>
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Lately, I've been studying for my first CLEP test with CollegePlus - Analyzing and Interpreting Literature. I've been studying for it for literally <em>months </em>- partially because I could never get it scheduled, partially because I had to take a month off so we could work on our basement (it looks FAB!!), and partially just cuz. Life, y'all.<br />
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Anywhoz, I fiiiiiiinally took it today. And I PASSED!! WOOT!!! I am now in BEACH MODE. We're leaving on Monday, and I'm sooooo excited. I got a million books at the library, so, combined with a few I'm re-reading (or, in the case of <em>The Living Room</em> by Robert Whitlow, bought about a month ago, but haven't been able to read yet cuz of school), I'm going to have a LOT of fun. We're also planning several movie marathons - ALL of the <em>Lord of the Rings</em> movies (extended, of course), plus a few new ones, including <em>Patriot Games</em>, starring Harrison Ford and Sean Bean. Can't wait! We've been listening to the soundtrack for several months now, and if the movie is anything like the soundtrack, it's going to be AWESOME.<br />
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During my vacation at the beach, I'm hopefully going to have a lot of time to blog, so you should see at least two NYC-related posts next week. One will be for Day Two, and one is... well, that's for me to know and you to find out. : )<br />
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As I type this, I'm half-watching <em>Melody Time</em>. I was doing research for my new novel (eep... so excited about the way it's heading!), and found out that it came out in 1948, which is the year the novel starts in. I needed a movie for two main characters to go see, and picked <em>Melody Time</em>. Remembering it was in our collection of movies in the newly-finished basement, I took it upstairs and have tried to watch it for a while now. So far, Nut-Nut is enjoying it. As the opening credits rolled, I found out that Roy Rogers is in it! YAY!! Can't wait to hear him!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-djyGNUliNKfiNcTQDu4ZvdQMVyttNmAzl8pH4idzYoVOKW8w6r4JM5X0Op61N32MRxfJCHSEg8XVPnXkR1dBGvywvhyouWOTcUvSl7JPu90RBVEKxUS9V_4utB2Lo95RbIFoTiDVQvM/s1600/037fe93f9521995503f7c2c934d03442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-djyGNUliNKfiNcTQDu4ZvdQMVyttNmAzl8pH4idzYoVOKW8w6r4JM5X0Op61N32MRxfJCHSEg8XVPnXkR1dBGvywvhyouWOTcUvSl7JPu90RBVEKxUS9V_4utB2Lo95RbIFoTiDVQvM/s200/037fe93f9521995503f7c2c934d03442.jpg" width="132" /></a>Speaking of my new novel.... : ) I'm really enjoying doing research for it. It's so much fun to watch movies, find pictures of people dressed in just the <em>cutest</em> outfits, and listen to music - all set in the late 40's. I enjoyed researching ice dancing for <em>Becoming Nikki</em>, but I think researching for this novel is going to be even more fun!! A lot of Arwen's favorite singers and actors were alive and in movies during this time period - Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, etc - so she's more than happy to watch and listen along with me. : )<br />
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I've also found a lot of blogs lately that I'm really enjoying reading! However, if you guys know of any writer blogs that you've enjoyed reading, I'd love to hear about them! I can always use more inspiration. : )<br />
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Ooh. Nearly forgot. My sister, Arwen, is turning twenty in September (sooooo oooold....), and, after much deliberation, has decided to have a Jane Austen Murder Mystery Tea Party. *nods* It's true. She's inviting about fifteen people, but there are only ten characters, so she had some trouble deciding who should be who for a while. We've got it all sorted out now, though. Can't wait to tell you guys how it goes! I'm playing Mrs. Bennet..... So that'll be interesting...... *wink* There's also Mr. Bennet (duuuuuuh), Lizzie, Darcy, Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine de Bourgh (who Arwen is portraying, cuz she's the host), Emma Woodhouse, Frank Churchill (heehee...), Marianne Dashwood, and Willoughby (heehee.....). Everybody is going to be dressed up in period attire, so it's definitely going to be interesting. I can post pictures, if you want!<br />
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I've also been listening to a lot of great music on YouTube lately - <em>studying</em>, y'all, <em>studying</em> - but I don't think I'll post any cuz I have a little something in the works. : ) It's been interesting trying to find videos the actors who were in the musicals I saw on Broadway. I found out that the annual Broadway in Bryant Park show was the week after I was there.... Figures.... *sniff* With each video I watch from it, though, I'm like, "I WAS THERE!!!" : )<br />
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Well, I think that's all I wanted to talk about. I should have called this another Random Post, but I like the title I have. Cuz it's from this song.<br />
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(Speaking of!! I heard Aaron's character, Mike, got shot in one of the latest <em>Graceland</em> episodes!! Noooooooo!! Is he okay? People who have seen it, PLEASE TELL ME HE'S OKAY!!)<br />
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I guess that's it. I'll tell y'all a random quote that's been making me laugh for the past few weeks (thanks, <a href="http://bring-your-own-books.blogspot.com/">Kate</a>!), and let you go back to your normal lives.<br />
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"You illiterate twit!"<br />
"I am<em> not</em> illiterate! My parents were <em>married</em>!!!"<br />
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~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-84257544543177394082013-08-16T09:19:00.000-07:002013-08-16T09:22:33.629-07:00i <3 fridays<DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> <DIV>(Random Fact About Eowyn: I didn't find out that the texting symbol "<3" meant a heart until about a month ago. I always thought it was kissing lips, so I never used it. [Doesn't it look like puckering lips?!])</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I love Fridays. They are, without a doubt, my favorite day of the week, with Sundays coming in as a close second.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Fridays are awesome. They're the end of something awful (the school week – ick) and the promise of something awesome (THE WEEKEND!! WOOT!!!).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On Fridays, I usually have more patience with my schoolwork. More resolve to Get. It. Done. so that I can move on to the three days of freedom ahead of me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Every Friday, we hold our annual Friday Family Fun Night – chock full of movies, popcorn, ice cream, and laughter. I love it to death. Recently, however, Mom and Dad have been going to their Growing Kids God's Way class on Friday nights, so Friday now means Friday Sibling Awesome PAR-TAY!!! Night. : )</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Today, I took a holiday from school. (For multiple reasons, the chief of which being the fact that I was supposed to take a CLEP test today, but it didn't work out, so I'm taking a break from studying so hard and enjoying some me-time.) Today, I'm working on my new novel while listening to Josh Groban. (I have all of his albums except the Christmas one, so it's a long playlist. PERFECT for writing.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I haven't written anything in SO. LONG, so it's really, <EM>really</EM> nice to be writing again. The novel is coming along well. It's extremely character-driven (much like <EM>Cranford</EM>, except a lot less death.... *cough*), so it's a bit of a challenge, but I'm enjoying it. : ) Plus, I've got an amazing cast of actors backing me up by letting me use their faces for my characters, so that's awesome. We're talking Aaron Tveit (I've finally found a character worthy of him!), Eddie Redmayne, a very young Debbie Reynolds, Kiera Knightley, Ashley Clements, and I think Liam Hemsworth just stepped in to star as Aaron's character's older brother. It's coming along great. : )</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Well, I think Josh is calling me back. (<EM>'Hush now, baby, don't you cry.... Rest your wings, my butterfly. Peace will come to you in time, and I will sing this lullaby. Know, though, I must leave, my child, but I would stay here by your side... And if you wake before I'm gone, remember this sweet lullaby....'</EM> Sighhhh.... Yups.) I'll leave y'all with a paragraph I just finished.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">"He had that sort of boyish charm that she had always liked, but there was something different this time – something that made this boy different from all of the other boys she'd ever met. He wore shorts, a green t-shirt with an half-buttoned, checkered button-up shirt over it with the sleeves rolled up, and a brown baseball cap. His face was ordinary, with ordinary freckles peppered all over his face, and reddish-brown hair peeked out from under the cap. What struck Lou, however, were his eyes. They were a mixture of brown and green, and they delved deep into Lou's soul. Within moments, she knew that her life would never be the same. She was in love."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>~Eowyn~</DIV></DIV></DIV>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-91434771235333136572013-08-07T17:27:00.000-07:002013-08-07T17:27:30.790-07:00NYC: Day One(Heehee.... I can hear you guys squealing.... "Pictures!!" Yes. Now hush.)<br />
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This is the account of my recent trip to NYC. I hope you all enjoy. (And comment lots.) I'll try to refrain from squealing and giggling, but I have no doubt that when I get to Days Two and Three (when I saw <em>Wicked</em> and <em>Cinderella</em>, respectively) I won't be able to contain the fangirlish randomly-pounding-the-keyboard-while-the-caps-lock-is-on. (<em>If</em> you catch my drift.)<br />
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Onwards.<br />
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<strong>Pre-Trip Stuffs</strong><br />
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I think it goes without say that I was excited for about a month before my trip - from the day I graduated to the day we got home. We're talking non-stop talking about the trip, complete with watching videos, reading musical synopsises (synopsi?), and searching for the perfect bag - a big one with a zipper on the top and no outside pockets. (I eventually found the bag, by the way. It'll make it's appearance later on.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beforehand (literally the night before we left), my dad and I printed out a huge map of Manhattan and plotted out everything we wanted to see, then wrote out our itinerary on the back. The thing became as dear to us as.... the holy grail. Or something extremely necessary.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My awesome suitcase I got for my graduation, plus the "Go Places and See Stuff" luggage tag and bag that I got from my parents, both hints before they told me where we were going.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUB-mjXT3z7YJB2gpf20uQkn-G6RbKXc6TK2O_Tu8dJGJXSHrDbP1IifjEQAtr9DjvX-XgmLTMYSOsI6BMxzeiGESqLJzNXdHi1UtLH0MqYSqa97drNLT7QRU4WABniVuEZiU9OXE7JGt/s1600/IMG_1341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUB-mjXT3z7YJB2gpf20uQkn-G6RbKXc6TK2O_Tu8dJGJXSHrDbP1IifjEQAtr9DjvX-XgmLTMYSOsI6BMxzeiGESqLJzNXdHi1UtLH0MqYSqa97drNLT7QRU4WABniVuEZiU9OXE7JGt/s320/IMG_1341.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Day One outfit, all set out!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18yR6wgXKL-GMXhB-hnMGDWFZ6MPNSvYzIYp4rpZRewwOzwpFF8wqVoI_c_BFAS20iwmBvBdi5dPDEXmT2p8vbKgYLJwDYK4K_211fhs9v2U_m2hNCJ9rhB2VMOubqC1WuCW6Une6TxAV/s1600/IMG_1345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18yR6wgXKL-GMXhB-hnMGDWFZ6MPNSvYzIYp4rpZRewwOzwpFF8wqVoI_c_BFAS20iwmBvBdi5dPDEXmT2p8vbKgYLJwDYK4K_211fhs9v2U_m2hNCJ9rhB2VMOubqC1WuCW6Une6TxAV/s320/IMG_1345.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My suitcase and its contents. Take notice of how empty it is, keep that image in the back of your mind, and compare it with the picture of how full my suitcase is upon my arrival at home.</td></tr>
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<strong>Day One: Welcome to New York</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aCmeV8q00ET0tnk8UoNdjIO_ym7cZqKgw1HlN-Yl6xlZhJHsmd9xhEvlelXQFirwWlc2gbTHCbgpJ0qnglIXxEjDhlx9GkiDE8mkhVhta4ZNQEslUW9CBGlTqjirzWtcct-Hw6F8Kzgu/s1600/IMG_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aCmeV8q00ET0tnk8UoNdjIO_ym7cZqKgw1HlN-Yl6xlZhJHsmd9xhEvlelXQFirwWlc2gbTHCbgpJ0qnglIXxEjDhlx9GkiDE8mkhVhta4ZNQEslUW9CBGlTqjirzWtcct-Hw6F8Kzgu/s320/IMG_1349.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out the window at our plane, TOTALLY EXCITED!! : D I'd never been on a plane before, either, so I was more than a little nervous. (Heehee.... On the plane, I experienced what it was like to be in constant prayer.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9tyCoVbttDZZ6jl2BSd2kRoFJKQM8n0CxP4GyYjLZOjEb_rC1BtkwoscxZbIkqox-KVq-3C9Fs9cKsaG9S3wuzFanQs1bflC3qhLIivr5PcYK9KoD3nRSQgPeqDft6NalGnZ6UmUepWN/s1600/IMG_1355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9tyCoVbttDZZ6jl2BSd2kRoFJKQM8n0CxP4GyYjLZOjEb_rC1BtkwoscxZbIkqox-KVq-3C9Fs9cKsaG9S3wuzFanQs1bflC3qhLIivr5PcYK9KoD3nRSQgPeqDft6NalGnZ6UmUepWN/s320/IMG_1355.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Y'all can't believe how excited I was to see Lady Liberty. Not only did it mean that my two-hour ride of pain and agony (and the Penderwick family) was almost over, it also meant that I HAD ARRIVED.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhzAoKgU7x_5c4Ru5PTX3sUxzN5FoLr9-FmAa8RNRsj8q7uNRxSbRNiVnWX_LB6U2p2lmohrLLS7Z6nhdKMNmD8wSjlyEZ8n_a4m1wTOumyD5MK3QA0l5sF6CP7ceSAny6-nttbEg4axe/s1600/IMG_1360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhzAoKgU7x_5c4Ru5PTX3sUxzN5FoLr9-FmAa8RNRsj8q7uNRxSbRNiVnWX_LB6U2p2lmohrLLS7Z6nhdKMNmD8wSjlyEZ8n_a4m1wTOumyD5MK3QA0l5sF6CP7ceSAny6-nttbEg4axe/s320/IMG_1360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YAY!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'd received some very good advice from a friend that you shouldn't try to look like a tourist when you go to NYC. I thought that was brilliant advice and decided to follow it. However, once we'd entered the airport.... I took out my camera.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdv5OVjOP9OnCZSzC6rRcdFUwKP5nFVGr1vQELn3-rdaZjYm8z7HFLQlFemUQY9zlbg4ASEos4i_7Cx2CAIcQ01Nw3OxS_FIXbskV5hoFTwuFSgLPL3wj6VK5eBzRimHE8BG2sxMrkMTFn/s1600/IMG_1361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdv5OVjOP9OnCZSzC6rRcdFUwKP5nFVGr1vQELn3-rdaZjYm8z7HFLQlFemUQY9zlbg4ASEos4i_7Cx2CAIcQ01Nw3OxS_FIXbskV5hoFTwuFSgLPL3wj6VK5eBzRimHE8BG2sxMrkMTFn/s320/IMG_1361.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iPads, y'all. This country girl from the sticks was astonished to see iPads with menus at a restaurant. Seriously. You picked what you wanted, then played with the apps while you waited. Minor culture shock ensued.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLFPWZnDVlfOLVWkisQUMeNxl4aIZkhILQ2J4d1nwF7jDBi38tr2weZydN-yDT0iSYHdoSzGx0r3Q77rHXW4GfaeLHCeuDjzYDzCx5b7CLiAg-GbJiJf5B_eYm4ggDUbplvkQbCAljptg/s1600/IMG_1376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLFPWZnDVlfOLVWkisQUMeNxl4aIZkhILQ2J4d1nwF7jDBi38tr2weZydN-yDT0iSYHdoSzGx0r3Q77rHXW4GfaeLHCeuDjzYDzCx5b7CLiAg-GbJiJf5B_eYm4ggDUbplvkQbCAljptg/s320/IMG_1376.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, we ate at a bar and it was delicious. Your point is?<br />
(Totally recommend, by the by. If ever any of you are in NYC....)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFdSBbYUTze4j0TCUY00qxFAahLWcdZLrxll8sI9Aqxoib-uCeqwVQogdS21jBqVoT_IhtPDDzCTBsxmxlEhV0fYHwWt6Tuh4sIUI0QlACPgVuuZFcjS3LWcNBHqJX-i0u2t7wEkfDww1/s1600/IMG_1372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFdSBbYUTze4j0TCUY00qxFAahLWcdZLrxll8sI9Aqxoib-uCeqwVQogdS21jBqVoT_IhtPDDzCTBsxmxlEhV0fYHwWt6Tuh4sIUI0QlACPgVuuZFcjS3LWcNBHqJX-i0u2t7wEkfDww1/s320/IMG_1372.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cheeseburger and mashed potatoes from that night. (Minus the bun.) Yummmm......</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OyzqJwNBluTeMRy0F6oo3w-TL7QDg5OiZQhwgmGFwmGlXiJRtCTooCssYzrQvkmsZI9JZgFVJV_cJHzl0L7VaYN8eEFfZfuWfFZ7TDP6UxV8x0V_NiKgXtl0gtQX_UyqA9oyaQnn8g5g/s1600/IMG_1377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OyzqJwNBluTeMRy0F6oo3w-TL7QDg5OiZQhwgmGFwmGlXiJRtCTooCssYzrQvkmsZI9JZgFVJV_cJHzl0L7VaYN8eEFfZfuWfFZ7TDP6UxV8x0V_NiKgXtl0gtQX_UyqA9oyaQnn8g5g/s320/IMG_1377.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The post office near our hotel - awesome!! We went inside the next day.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4eafBSe1naRFYEw2rGSuJT03LryYzFW5W98wD9X92tjS58QKanOiWXou3yy9TdyJCVj_74B4blseZ47hySWIXCX24Dj9YyFVUck8HVGYNm40LZZzYncCjSFmmfgfQo5Gpe9XwWtn1G7d/s1600/IMG_1383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4eafBSe1naRFYEw2rGSuJT03LryYzFW5W98wD9X92tjS58QKanOiWXou3yy9TdyJCVj_74B4blseZ47hySWIXCX24Dj9YyFVUck8HVGYNm40LZZzYncCjSFmmfgfQo5Gpe9XwWtn1G7d/s320/IMG_1383.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the very top of our first hotel - the twentieth floor - and sitting as far away from the edge as possible. : )</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5EYsVdfEwbX_-Z5aGHxQP_KSK3rrxJbQ9sd0Ud9v907WgmX8Ptj5zu3kjJmjyN5F_gkjKICKWtIEiTJyvHAMM9-wFZ701canKXg4_iXFkWA8UXB8y3s4F-_pZf8s4doAKFwZSft_IxLf/s1600/IMG_1387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5EYsVdfEwbX_-Z5aGHxQP_KSK3rrxJbQ9sd0Ud9v907WgmX8Ptj5zu3kjJmjyN5F_gkjKICKWtIEiTJyvHAMM9-wFZ701canKXg4_iXFkWA8UXB8y3s4F-_pZf8s4doAKFwZSft_IxLf/s320/IMG_1387.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the top of the hotel, with Freedom Tower in the background. SO PRETTY!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gYC17OmNBEdjk8e0dBtYBla4-2f3VTF22Es44LXRg1fTr8GI4Sqm2OHleF-POK3Bb_AjH45GA2r6c8jskBKYwZIQ44QAwzZj9RCQf8q0ujLife_15SIrspS7Qu78VptSm6AWiWsRatLx/s1600/IMG_1390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gYC17OmNBEdjk8e0dBtYBla4-2f3VTF22Es44LXRg1fTr8GI4Sqm2OHleF-POK3Bb_AjH45GA2r6c8jskBKYwZIQ44QAwzZj9RCQf8q0ujLife_15SIrspS7Qu78VptSm6AWiWsRatLx/s320/IMG_1390.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view down to the street from the hotel. : )</td></tr>
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After a few phone calls, texts, and a half hour with the Penderwicks, I fell asleep. In New York City. Totally excited, hyped, and ready for DAY TWO!!!<br />
<br />
Sneak peek:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOx5oUgaZJ5Y7foFBrDvm1AeSUlL4LXr6dumctImAW2bgug3aXrwqxDlFFYmFeglBmZWW5OMPkfZAB73YW4yt22qfXh6vSbHuPLdBHebTIkVDFiaylxQu33nKCSYOLLV8wMOS3UPTlCNB5/s1600/IMG_1535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOx5oUgaZJ5Y7foFBrDvm1AeSUlL4LXr6dumctImAW2bgug3aXrwqxDlFFYmFeglBmZWW5OMPkfZAB73YW4yt22qfXh6vSbHuPLdBHebTIkVDFiaylxQu33nKCSYOLLV8wMOS3UPTlCNB5/s320/IMG_1535.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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So excited to share more pictures and stories with all y'all!!!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
~Eowyn~</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-24235085856962252082013-08-03T12:55:00.002-07:002013-08-03T12:55:52.944-07:00three letters: nyc<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEf9C4KEBYVlJ0eiOF8E5u9m591YYP3PQ5kPGwbqs_RvKRADIGb4r18cgJ_rgsiLE_BR9gmbWHUsnpnIypC7H-jGGeR_8efLPC48rQQufxpOA60sqWsMITAmVY2AlNTVvBzohKxelNbs1/s1600/IMG_1639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEf9C4KEBYVlJ0eiOF8E5u9m591YYP3PQ5kPGwbqs_RvKRADIGb4r18cgJ_rgsiLE_BR9gmbWHUsnpnIypC7H-jGGeR_8efLPC48rQQufxpOA60sqWsMITAmVY2AlNTVvBzohKxelNbs1/s320/IMG_1639.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad and I with the Statue of Liberty behind us</td></tr>
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: )<br />
<br />
I have been smiling since.... well, since I can't remember. My thoughts right now are much like Rapunzel's from <em>Tangled</em> - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awvSykRdR4s">"I can't believe I did this!"</a><br />
<br />
It's still kind of surreal that I went to New York and saw a Broadway play - two, to be precise! SO much happened while we were there - memories I'd love to share with all y'all!<br /><br />The thing is, I have no idea how to do it. As some of you know, I did a blog series about the time I went to see <em>Les Miserables</em> on stage, but that got very drawn out and took almost a year. I'm not sure how long the New York Trip Series would take if I tried to do it, but....<br />
<br />
Would y'all want a blog series? Or just the highlights? Cuz I have so many pictures I want to share.... So. Many. Pictures. All involving much explaining and giggling and all that. : )<br /><br />I think I'll do a blog series. Except it'll just be like my vacation series - with one post per day we spent in the city that never sleeps. (Literally. It never slept. Nor did the people who lived there. [Except my dad and I, cuz we were so tired from all of the walking we did.])<br />
<br />
What say ye?<br />
<br />
~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-83635100358847776752013-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:002013-07-30T09:00:02.793-07:00START SPREADIN' THE NEWS - I'M LEAVING TODAY!!!!!!SHIOLKNLSGBUAOIHLNTAKLGIHLSK'A;OIHLSGSILHJ;LKSAPIUWNKVSOPIGUSP!!!!!!!!!<br />
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Yeahhhhh..... All the feels..... : )<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/i-ZUXQuFcnw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Soooooo..... I'm taking a leave of absence on this blog (and emailing and commenting on other blogs and all that jazz) for the next four days (count 'em - FOUR!!!) while I'll be in....<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ADWo3q8GKaA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Yups. : )<br />
<br />
Au rivoir!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-10488386768058712032013-07-29T10:27:00.000-07:002013-08-03T12:56:27.730-07:00one day more.<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, it's actually more like Half A Day More, but that is neither here nor there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">It's weird.... Even now, less than twelve hours 'til The Day My Life Begins, it still feels like this entire trip to NYC is just something crazy that my dad and I are doing. Something in the distant future. Something so surreal, it's almost unbelievable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">You see, when I told my parents that I wanted to go to New York to see a Broadway play for my graduation a few months ago, I didn't really think it'd work out. It's too insane, right? So I asked for my own room, cuz that's more do-able. During the hustle and bustle of finishing up school, doing CollegePlus, doing random summer stuff, and going to my grandparents' house for a week, I completely forgot about asking my parents for a trip to NYC. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Then, when they said that we were actually doing it, I nearly flipped. I guess you could say I reached for the stars with asking for my own room (which I got, by the way). A line from the song 'Anything Can Happen' from the Broadway version of <em>Mary Poppins</em> comes to mind....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'Anything can happen if you let it.... If you reach for the stars, all you'll get are the stars, but we've found a whole new spin.... If you reach for the heavens, you'll get the stars thrown in!'</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So, today, I've been sending out thank you notes for my many graduation gifts (a month late.... yikes.... My excuse is that I didn't have any stamps.), doing laundry, packing oh-so-slowly, and just doing random things to prepare.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I've been checking on what the weather will look like, asking my dad a million times about airport regulations on contact solution and toothpaste, and basically taking it all one step at a time, just like a friend told me to do at church yesterday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, I have to go now. I need to finish up something, but I can't really remember what it was.... : P</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(Oh, looky there. A whole blog post and only one exclamation mark. Well, I'll fix that.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I'm going to NYC in </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">ONE.... DAY............ MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">~Eowyn~</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-31550502710454591432013-07-24T09:54:00.000-07:002013-08-03T12:57:03.211-07:00Kindergarten Troubles<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Earlier today, my mom was working on kindergarten with my youngest brother, Nut-Nut. (Whose name isn't really Nut-Nut, just like my little sister's name isn't really JellyBean. But you all knew that.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">He's learning all about the seven days of creation, and they were working on Day Three this morning, when God separated the land from the sea. I sat and watched while giving a bottle to Miss Bean. Mom was trying to explain that the plants started growing, each to their own kind, just like it says in Genesis 1:11-12.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"The orange trees grew oranges," Mom told Nut-Nut, "and the tomato seeds grew tomatoes. Do you understand?" He nodded and she went on. "Okay, what do cucumber seeds grow?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Um.... They grow.... Um...." He fiddled around with his belt and said the same thing over and over – "They grow... um.... They grow... um.... They grow... um...."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I was sitting far enough away that I could hear every word they said, but since Nut-Nut was facing away, he wouldn't be able to see or hear that I was about to burst with laughter. Seriously, it was the funniest thing in the world!!<br /><br />It went on like this for about twenty minutes. Seriously, guys.<em> Twenty minutes</em>. Finally, my mom said, "This is taking <em>way</em> too long. We're going to stop right now and pray that God gives you the answer and clears away all the confusion from your mind about this simple, simple thing." They did just that.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">When they were done, Nut-Nut started crying, saying he didn't know why. Mom asked him again – "What do cucumber seeds make?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">More of the same, "Ummmmm...."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Then I suggested to use something he knew, because I don't think the kid has ever seen an orange tree. We have three blueberry bushes at the side of our house, and he loves picking the blueberries off it, so I suggested that.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Mom said, "What grows on blueberry bushes? Like the blueberry bushes we have outside our house?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Um.... Blueberries?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Much rejoicing happened. : D Then, Mom proceeded to ask him about tomatoes, oranges, cucumbers, and peas. He replied, "Tomatoes make tomatoes, and oranges make oranges!" (He also said, "Muffins make muffins." We're still working on that.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I finished feeding JellyBean her bottle, put her to bed, and started editing my novel. A few minutes later, Mom came in and brought a whole new light on the previous event that I'd never thought about before. She said, "The reason that it was so hard for him to understand all that was because of spiritual warfare. The devil only wants to twist the truth in God's word, so evolution is the way he's twisting the truth about creation." So true!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Mom suggested I write about this here, and I think it was a great idea. An even better idea, though, is to pray for wisdom and for God to reveal truth for all of us as school starts up again. I'm starting up again on August 5th, and will definitely need some help with a CLEP test I've been studying for for about a month now, not including all the breaks I've had to take because of needing to help finish out our basement. I'd encourage you guys to do the same!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">~Eowyn~</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-37228043431143177892013-07-22T18:31:00.003-07:002013-07-22T18:31:45.798-07:00It's next week, y'all. Next. WEEK!!!!!Sighhhhh....... I can't <em>belieeeeeve</em> my NYC trip is next week, you guys. Seriously. It's still pretty hard to believe that I'm actually going to New York to see, not one, but TWO Broadway musicals!! GAHHHH!!!! I want the time I have to wait to go by really fast, but I also want it to go by slowly so I can say to myself in a year or so, "Remember how awesome that last week of waiting was? I felt like I was floating on air.... Little did I know how amazing my trip would be!!" (Cuz, y'all... I just <em>know</em> - I know - that it's going to be amazing.) Also, my dad told me today that he's trying to get us a hotel in the theater district. YAHOOOOOOO!!!! I'm going to take millions of pictures, so, like I told a friend, that'll mean <em>frillions </em>of blog posts. Hope y'all are ready. If you're all so jealous you'll find out where I live, murder me, then bury me alive and dance on my grave while singing, "What Is This Feeling?", well..... Ya might want to steer clear of my blog for the next year or so. Just a warning. ; )<br />
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Ahh, well. I can feel the green (GREEN! AND I'M SEEING <em>WICKED</em>!! AHHHH!!!) oozing out of every pore in your bodies at my tiptoes, so I'll stop making you jealous and tell you about another part of my life that's going on right now. 'kay? 'kay.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOOWYf8CeG1n6AtmWqi8i7sn0BIgn5GC1aJ8xHc1ORo_mPz4HQ4ya7I5jF_8oKWlybE7H1Ut4hR2m82wqn0XcQAylckawO5R6JjJTlHi5xQvmKRyHVFo_Kt3GhZX-lGcU8WNAgU5DhFlL/s1600/rosetyler02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOOWYf8CeG1n6AtmWqi8i7sn0BIgn5GC1aJ8xHc1ORo_mPz4HQ4ya7I5jF_8oKWlybE7H1Ut4hR2m82wqn0XcQAylckawO5R6JjJTlHi5xQvmKRyHVFo_Kt3GhZX-lGcU8WNAgU5DhFlL/s1600/rosetyler02.jpg" /></a>On Friday, my family is going to a masquerade ball. (Well, that <em>is</em> what's going on..... I know some of you are becoming jealous again, but, hey....) I'm going as Rose Tyler from<em> Doctor Who</em>, and a friend of mine is going as the Doctor. (Ten. Duuuuuuhhhh....) I'm going to be wearing her outfit from the episode called <em>The Idiot's Lantern</em> (shown at right), and have had much help from <a href="http://oftrimsandfrillsandfurbelows.blogspot.com/">Ally</a>. (THANK YOU!!!!)<br />
<br />
I went on a shopping trip for fun (and to look for a few essentials for my costume) with <a href="http://bring-your-own-books.blogspot.com/">Katelyn</a> and two of her amazing younger sisters today. We had SUCH a blast!! I've never really liked shopping before, but it was fun with people you could talk about the clothes with! I got a Converse t-shirt, plus some pink sunglasses to go with the outfit. Concerning the sequined top, however.... You guys simply can't believe how hard it's been for me to find a sequined top. Who'da thunk?! With all the girlygirlygirly stores that outlet mall had, you would think that they had at least<em> some </em>sequined stuff.... Nope. Not even a skirt to cut up. : ( I ended up going to Goodwill tonight after we dropped Katelyn and her sisters off at their house and found a shirt that'll kinda work. Now all I need is a Tardis and a blue motorcycle and I'll be fine!! : D (Actually, I still need to find some fishnet stockings and a pink cocktail ring.... Details, Hogan.... Details. I'll look for it tomorrow.) Tonight and tomorrow, I'm going to be working on my skirt and the crinoline that goes underneath. And for all of you who know that my favorite color is green (GREEN AGAIN!!) and <em>not</em> pink, well, let's just say that I'm getting to like pink a little more. It's feminine and very pretty. And it'll encourage me to not climb any trees in my outfit.... (Yeah, I've been known to do that....)<br />
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Anyway. I'm really excited about the masquerade, though! My younger sister is going in an autumn red formal with a fox mask she made, Arwen is going as a modern Cinderella (boring...), my younger brother is going as The Man In Black from <em>Princess Bride</em>, Nut-Nut is going as the Phantom (YAY!!), and JellyBean is going as her cute self. As are Mom and Dad. It's going to be SO much fun. Swing dancing usually is. : )<br />
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Ta-ta for now - I'm off to seam-rip my skirt, sew it back up again (cuz it was a plus size.....yeah....), and cut up the crinoline, then sew that up again, too!! (<em>That</em> was too long.... Yups, it's a confuzifying outfit. *wink, wink*)<br />
<br />
~Eowyn~<br />
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P.S. I'm working on a blog post full of pictures from my graduation last month (SO. MUCH. FUN!!!!), but it might not get posted for a while.... I'll see if I can do it before my trip, though!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-85401416033746078742013-07-19T11:00:00.000-07:002013-07-19T11:00:00.541-07:00JellyBeanI feel so bad! My little sister, whose nickname is JellyBean and who you <a href="http://inklingspress.blogspot.com/2013/03/behold-reason-deadline-was-extended.html">met</a> a few months ago, is nearly four months old and I haven't posted a single picture of her since March!!! YIKES!!!<br />
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To compensate, here are a bunch. Enjoy. : )<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUWpPStOpCuSpM6fWO-Hx4VcYMSLvo9RYrQJWxXhTG6UUfvzIIlVPv71ziAvhz3jAbngeSM_fMkllkZ39cJPDtoAuwhPskZGQvO8tUA54IF_z_uJHdXuEhY-0pJU4Iiviv808Svcv9t7w/s1600/IMG_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUWpPStOpCuSpM6fWO-Hx4VcYMSLvo9RYrQJWxXhTG6UUfvzIIlVPv71ziAvhz3jAbngeSM_fMkllkZ39cJPDtoAuwhPskZGQvO8tUA54IF_z_uJHdXuEhY-0pJU4Iiviv808Svcv9t7w/s320/IMG_0340.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was from a few months ago, but it gives you a little glimpse of how big her cheeks are!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndqtxFVHYO4x-J0EnRjlsz0BvBon8kWAJhULPR8w4lYPmc-ITtBAiYBAuW_7tkQoN_zac_1Hnof1vfpCMOsMyDpEerlg5KRLa2vDM6rjGY9SWD-rIvFvKXZigzMsdh98zeixu_5ja9wvb/s1600/IMG_0887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndqtxFVHYO4x-J0EnRjlsz0BvBon8kWAJhULPR8w4lYPmc-ITtBAiYBAuW_7tkQoN_zac_1Hnof1vfpCMOsMyDpEerlg5KRLa2vDM6rjGY9SWD-rIvFvKXZigzMsdh98zeixu_5ja9wvb/s320/IMG_0887.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0f6LXcvHUHHpNPsiWWWA5etMf7mnW1_fW6estpttsizkxdOsPtHpWGSKcD5IKHJsqvgBsvoUJWcbsFc2Tl8sKre1_J30XApGTaOIgDO3bazWgj6fy6MHJTpybqIACEIur3k_6sRkZwklZ/s1600/IMG_0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0f6LXcvHUHHpNPsiWWWA5etMf7mnW1_fW6estpttsizkxdOsPtHpWGSKcD5IKHJsqvgBsvoUJWcbsFc2Tl8sKre1_J30XApGTaOIgDO3bazWgj6fy6MHJTpybqIACEIur3k_6sRkZwklZ/s320/IMG_0613.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You're HOW old?!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnzqEv5KZLwzd5B8ic5ZLPstOf6saauOLw5Kv1BeI85oNLLjGjEzVQlmYOMAU7XHNSwNLU7LKBBtOuWQnrjCA-66Vok6JTwiQbeM0AtgyxekSMDcShQmdAifIIO-OcER5JcLtXREN2l5E/s1600/IMG_0617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnzqEv5KZLwzd5B8ic5ZLPstOf6saauOLw5Kv1BeI85oNLLjGjEzVQlmYOMAU7XHNSwNLU7LKBBtOuWQnrjCA-66Vok6JTwiQbeM0AtgyxekSMDcShQmdAifIIO-OcER5JcLtXREN2l5E/s320/IMG_0617.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Despite Miss Bean's shocked, "Get me Out. Of. Here." look on her face, she really loves Nut-Nut. And he loves her. They're SO cute together!!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5xlnPKB_-UnS_H65IhkzvwTEh1rSDi6yj_bIAErix5G6agtvA35xluHnd0i9U9rFsUZB70GclT6wZpZ0QQ5cjn9pdThyphenhyphenDLFLp-fC41onVS0QFdkajPjglRIv9-MYNrkD6Rvb5uXzFhnU/s1600/IMG_0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5xlnPKB_-UnS_H65IhkzvwTEh1rSDi6yj_bIAErix5G6agtvA35xluHnd0i9U9rFsUZB70GclT6wZpZ0QQ5cjn9pdThyphenhyphenDLFLp-fC41onVS0QFdkajPjglRIv9-MYNrkD6Rvb5uXzFhnU/s320/IMG_0892.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jx6YrBGhKiHNUIpIlPKHFaftwixpKwTqoF0b8evJjvrFXNEHsMzvHc0bXjj5WyN1LMPJNQiQ0lDn99ToMkxRH_2bJZAN5MAQgIUwNw2MeyIxcieuwmmhWIfJ9pZwOUsqWEDOmrcFJU9S/s1600/IMG_0622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jx6YrBGhKiHNUIpIlPKHFaftwixpKwTqoF0b8evJjvrFXNEHsMzvHc0bXjj5WyN1LMPJNQiQ0lDn99ToMkxRH_2bJZAN5MAQgIUwNw2MeyIxcieuwmmhWIfJ9pZwOUsqWEDOmrcFJU9S/s320/IMG_0622.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This child eats EVERYTHING. Everything goes in her mouth!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28LW82CGl_OLTQYL1AQhhK9fljHC5n8SgXVUMG9-d8gGAd2Bqu09GFiQ7aHEc65EA53ZZ3I_uspJ99PkPhX0QoXyX-foeguFmt8htBGSnFv-glsdSyaf6jISC3pBO11-VbQ7tTDBM9Ivu/s1600/IMG_0610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28LW82CGl_OLTQYL1AQhhK9fljHC5n8SgXVUMG9-d8gGAd2Bqu09GFiQ7aHEc65EA53ZZ3I_uspJ99PkPhX0QoXyX-foeguFmt8htBGSnFv-glsdSyaf6jISC3pBO11-VbQ7tTDBM9Ivu/s320/IMG_0610.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From a few months ago. She <em>loves</em> holding her hands. It's like her comfort thing. : )</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBxsa_r27wL1rxMX5liuZtaa0NGtxtjI0xdodQXlwnf3TaBL9-QLuDHgHk_oEcgzf736OYvXwbQBsbvUFC8VG3EmBL7b-CirxiB8vWMzfTOxFF9zN_arfStWPB67iksJ_nsOU2rCpt-9X/s1600/IMG_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBxsa_r27wL1rxMX5liuZtaa0NGtxtjI0xdodQXlwnf3TaBL9-QLuDHgHk_oEcgzf736OYvXwbQBsbvUFC8VG3EmBL7b-CirxiB8vWMzfTOxFF9zN_arfStWPB67iksJ_nsOU2rCpt-9X/s320/IMG_0882.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndqtxFVHYO4x-J0EnRjlsz0BvBon8kWAJhULPR8w4lYPmc-ITtBAiYBAuW_7tkQoN_zac_1Hnof1vfpCMOsMyDpEerlg5KRLa2vDM6rjGY9SWD-rIvFvKXZigzMsdh98zeixu_5ja9wvb/s1600/IMG_0887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHykwfwE5E5S8L_wCWc-wc8PSeWHazX8DpQwDdTqLSEcf2e2crENx3ZSzBpQyqACPbRTVgF8UeE80FubpvxRP57lqlJHI6YkVs1JbCirqXmico63hwzIlhMyeLCQt2gMgCRlYXGFQ6Itgf/s1600/IMG_0890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHykwfwE5E5S8L_wCWc-wc8PSeWHazX8DpQwDdTqLSEcf2e2crENx3ZSzBpQyqACPbRTVgF8UeE80FubpvxRP57lqlJHI6YkVs1JbCirqXmico63hwzIlhMyeLCQt2gMgCRlYXGFQ6Itgf/s320/IMG_0890.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She wouldn't smile for me for the longest time, and even when she did, her dimple was hidden! You can kinda see it here....</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmWIw3vInSgPElKE3ksknGyKQH-Coa7D9uX_QTTAWXuYzYyGXlLcI7mY4pOG6S90FgNCvLj-5sdykPy7dA-3bn__MtQD52vDX8qYv0EHWiFKM0qiF6QdFfaxhG4o-TA8-A1LzAoQ1Ts3v/s1600/IMG_0894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmWIw3vInSgPElKE3ksknGyKQH-Coa7D9uX_QTTAWXuYzYyGXlLcI7mY4pOG6S90FgNCvLj-5sdykPy7dA-3bn__MtQD52vDX8qYv0EHWiFKM0qiF6QdFfaxhG4o-TA8-A1LzAoQ1Ts3v/s320/IMG_0894.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cLpBD_NPY8SAT4JEyoIyfl15vj2v-1juL3-NaLlrPpMHwztNRBxk1SYBCNX0QnZU2LPH1MTsr95RsToLXjFqXbr-4pfoKCmr3Y3peUgb8pl1mil4fijtzevqIxJGotz96UBe1sl7gaLV/s1600/IMG_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cLpBD_NPY8SAT4JEyoIyfl15vj2v-1juL3-NaLlrPpMHwztNRBxk1SYBCNX0QnZU2LPH1MTsr95RsToLXjFqXbr-4pfoKCmr3Y3peUgb8pl1mil4fijtzevqIxJGotz96UBe1sl7gaLV/s320/IMG_0715.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's a pretty serious little girl. Until we start a raspberry war. Then she's all dimples and slobber.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtZ7DERqSV7whn-RtjLf68X0fHGMxmRyxlJmN50ap9XxewnrLK2wzaursp9MfVLvYwuS_6Tp8avu5kO78D9OLPwkqQuatHVX94Dj_yiLcnnsxEm3IYmWFECdmcli1t0gMZAoynozhDpYL/s1600/IMG_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtZ7DERqSV7whn-RtjLf68X0fHGMxmRyxlJmN50ap9XxewnrLK2wzaursp9MfVLvYwuS_6Tp8avu5kO78D9OLPwkqQuatHVX94Dj_yiLcnnsxEm3IYmWFECdmcli1t0gMZAoynozhDpYL/s320/IMG_0726.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JellyBean and Her Intended. Seriously. These two are going to get married someday.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieG7WZts9TsR1hGNCXSAly0J-QFU72tA3ha0GJqgSDgMzYdTWIQDJOfuQ6x649zP5LggMzy6rIpzEDDnQzTUcI406B98pohTwqxtOPwz_84qLd-MJCgIPVI4yAKAufqzASQa3PpXW1wn12/s1600/IMG_0833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieG7WZts9TsR1hGNCXSAly0J-QFU72tA3ha0GJqgSDgMzYdTWIQDJOfuQ6x649zP5LggMzy6rIpzEDDnQzTUcI406B98pohTwqxtOPwz_84qLd-MJCgIPVI4yAKAufqzASQa3PpXW1wn12/s320/IMG_0833.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Bean being serious again....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKu6hFJ2xF743-UvhOtxVIRqNOCECM22XnxIOADoBnZeZRvSk5HfZUL9tyykm4PoElslpRIc6Hr9_fDd2_ooza4GKWCUgcsvXXYSdPlpx7_wbhpoZMApYGesoY3gsJZokk0iOBXspekmZf/s1600/IMG_0851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKu6hFJ2xF743-UvhOtxVIRqNOCECM22XnxIOADoBnZeZRvSk5HfZUL9tyykm4PoElslpRIc6Hr9_fDd2_ooza4GKWCUgcsvXXYSdPlpx7_wbhpoZMApYGesoY3gsJZokk0iOBXspekmZf/s320/IMG_0851.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Do you see this look? This look says, 'I wanted to go to Disney World.' I'm not happy, Bob. Not. Happy."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0gtrNLxsXPrVekyOLNJiDXVyEgc8izhDrbufBV3PCmiCx8H4UuXgZNoryiKeA1R__mjoUg1_rPpKC0tQGn-AlcE4ytw9qSy1VEHKHybz9xZO_1iFWzg-EOk5UKJ2R6B5t7_pikLb6QuE/s1600/IMG_0854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0gtrNLxsXPrVekyOLNJiDXVyEgc8izhDrbufBV3PCmiCx8H4UuXgZNoryiKeA1R__mjoUg1_rPpKC0tQGn-AlcE4ytw9qSy1VEHKHybz9xZO_1iFWzg-EOk5UKJ2R6B5t7_pikLb6QuE/s320/IMG_0854.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dimple. : )</td></tr>
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~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-76540394175298245492013-07-15T20:23:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:23:14.982-07:00Review - Captain America: The First Avenger
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCw0yjuCwXIEa-pTO__pMv64d1oyPOVFgTSudiH_tXdqoWve3AvZrL_-LfepkOe7urK-5FgdSn9gWedHyREhmHEZs53cyfsslT5i3jHS9x6pojH4vS3gPHRmzqDKnZKodLleDv_doNeH0B/s1600/CapPoster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCw0yjuCwXIEa-pTO__pMv64d1oyPOVFgTSudiH_tXdqoWve3AvZrL_-LfepkOe7urK-5FgdSn9gWedHyREhmHEZs53cyfsslT5i3jHS9x6pojH4vS3gPHRmzqDKnZKodLleDv_doNeH0B/s200/CapPoster.png" width="127" /></a><i><span lang="en-US">Dr. Abraham
Erskine: </span>Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one
thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a
good man.</i><br />
<strong><span lang="en-US"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span lang="en-US">Synopsis</span></strong><br />
"It is 1942, America has entered World
War II, and sickly but determined Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, <i>The
Fantastic Four</i><span style="font-style: normal;">), is</span>
frustrated at being rejected yet again for military service.
Everything changes when Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci, <i>Kit Kittredge:
An American Girl</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) recruits</span>
him for the secret Project Rebirth. Proving his extraordinary
courage, wits and conscience, Rogers undergoes the experiment and his
weak body is suddenly enhanced into the maximum human potential. When
Dr. Erskine is then immediately assassinated by an agent of Nazi
Germany's secret HYDRA research department (headed by Johann Schmidt
(Hugo Weaving, <i>Lord of the Rings</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)</span>,
a.k.a. the Red Skull), Rogers is left as a unique man who is
initially misused as a propaganda mascot; however, when his comrades
need him, Rogers goes on a successful adventure that truly makes him
Captain America, and his war against Schmidt begins." (From <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458339/">IMDb</a>)<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdf1RI5fEyguS_ic_gb47WfSdlXidV-T-ybkCTxD-GXEqyaKB6iEoLEu43o05WDj6U-UOPZqcDXkGMNptrPWctCLO2O0MYBMsjhsWJPgLXUgfRIbgAt4XnfkQPOYghFbTpfB8O23Lp5Ft/s1600/676dfaf84cf7a6405c7310569fb72ab5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdf1RI5fEyguS_ic_gb47WfSdlXidV-T-ybkCTxD-GXEqyaKB6iEoLEu43o05WDj6U-UOPZqcDXkGMNptrPWctCLO2O0MYBMsjhsWJPgLXUgfRIbgAt4XnfkQPOYghFbTpfB8O23Lp5Ft/s200/676dfaf84cf7a6405c7310569fb72ab5.jpg" width="166" /></a><span lang="en-US"><b>My Opinion</b></span></div>
<strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Captain
America</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
was one of my first superhero movies. I'd seen </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Superman</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
(yuuuuuck.... But that's another post for another time....) and
</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Spider-Man</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
(the first of the “old” ones with Toby McGuire – meh...), and
didn't really like the sampling I'd had, so, to tell the truth, I
wasn't really looking forward to </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Captain
America</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. We ended up watching it a few days before the Fourth of July last year and then again on the Fourth for our Patriotic Movie Of The Day. Flash forward to now, when it's one of my favorite movies EVAH, and
Cap is one of my favorite onscreen heroes EVAH, and I have a picture
of Steve with an awesome quote that I made as my computer wallpaper.</span></span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What
makes </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Captain
America: The First Avenger</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
so wonderful? Well, I'll tell ya!</span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></strong> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><strong>The Cast and Characters</strong></span></span></span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZOjGxzczguoIhKPDuDwZ2sgau7bg-gBX87RsIA5DLpqVDCmk0tcMRNMZQhM6aL5cD6aH1nMs9JC9vTS3P46w-Bc-hNSGYujqghqr9dNjVsJdYLG5bvO8W164Zvoh2O8R5H8YKX2cOY1Q/s1600/Nuthin'.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZOjGxzczguoIhKPDuDwZ2sgau7bg-gBX87RsIA5DLpqVDCmk0tcMRNMZQhM6aL5cD6aH1nMs9JC9vTS3P46w-Bc-hNSGYujqghqr9dNjVsJdYLG5bvO8W164Zvoh2O8R5H8YKX2cOY1Q/s320/Nuthin'.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">First
off, Steve Rogers is just amazing. He's physically strong, yes, but
when you look behind that, you can see that he's sweet, has amazing
morals (</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
sticks to them!!</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">),
and is extremely humble! Even after “getting strong,” he knows
he's still the same guy inside – partially because it's what Dr.
Erskine told him over and over – and he isn't prideful about how
strong he is or how much he can help people!</span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">One thing I </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">really</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
enjoyed about the storyline because it shows Wimpy Steve before
Muscular Steve, so you can see how much he's changed, yet stayed the
same.</span></span></span></strong><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<strong><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As for Chris Evans.... He plays Steve to perfection. End of story.</span></span></span></strong></div>
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Peggy Carter. Wow. : ) She's awesome. She's one of those amazing heroines you can't help but like, even when they're not at their best. (Come on. You can't get much better than encouraging a group of soldiers doing push-ups with a sweet, British-accent-laced "Come on, girls!") At first, she didn't really think that Steve could live up to what Dr. Erskine thought he could, but she became friends with him even before he became Muscular Steve. Even then, very few people believed he could do anything other than be a guinea pig for scientists. She's the one who encouraged him when everything seemed bleak. Peggy stayed with Steve to the last. The very last. *sniff*<br />
Hayley Atwell made me love Peggy <em>so much</em>!! She perfectly balanced the side of Peggy that had been hardened by the grisly sights of war and Peggy's feminine side. Loved her portrayal!<br />
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Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. Red Skull was a neat mixture of interesting and creepy. You couldn't help but be infatuated with his life, yet, at the same time, be totally weirded-out by his creepiness! And after The Bridge Scene (y'all who have seen it know what I'm talking about), when his Big Secret is let out? Even weirder. (I, personally, think Schmidt was scarier without the you-know-what on. Hugo Weaving can do SO much with his eyebrows!! In a very unnerving, totally un-Jordan Taylor-like way.)<br />
Which brings me to Hugo. Maaaaaan..... He did a great job with Schmidt's character and made him the scary villain I love to hate.<br />
<br />
And those are all of the characters that the plot mainly centers around. There are, however, like a million secondary characters that I just <em>can't</em> leave out, so I'll do a quick run-through of my favorites.<br />
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Colonel Chester Phillips.... : ) He's the reason for most of the movie's language (more later), but he's so funny!! "We are going to win this war because we have the best... men. And they are going to get better." "If you have something to say, right now's a perfect time to keep it to yourself. "<br />
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Buckyyyyyyyy....... One of the best secondary characters I've EVER seen in a movie. You can't get much deeper than this character was developed and I loved him to death! (Or, rather, to <em>the</em> death. *sniff*) It was pretty neat to see his change of character during the whole thing. First he was someone who Steve really looked up to, then, by The First Faceoff, he and Steve had completely changed roles and now it was Bucky who looked up to Steve.<br />
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Dr. Erskine.... Such a great guy! He's the one who first saw Steve as amazing potential. And I love him for it. He only has a few minutes of screen time, but he's such a big influence in Steve's life....<br />
Such a great guy. : )<br />
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Howard Stark. Tony Stark's dad. Mind. Blown. Howard was played by Dominic Cooper, who played an extraordinarily convincing Willoughby in the '08 <em>Sense and Sensibility</em>. Needless to say, I didn't trust him in the beginning. By the end, though, I really loved him. "Can't see what all the fuss is about...." *gets blown back by the explosion from The Cube's power* "Write that down."<br />
<br />
Aaaaaaaaaand.... Here's a huge shout-out to....<br />
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Richard Armitage as That German Dude With The Awesome Glasses and Awesome Gun (Heinz Kruger)<br />
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and JJ Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth. (YAY FOR AMAZING PERIOD DRAMA FILM ACTOR CAMEOS!!!!)<span lang="en-US"><br /></span><br />
<strong><span lang="en-US">Random Pictures I Couldn't Fit Anywhere Else : )</span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicca3HfkIzjWwLi96CZNwZxWlfy9nGwotKdDfKwFNU6_W2I4xEEerBLDWywniEW6bjVOQpiynSJjXOpxKWHaDbq-9OpgW2uekyg0dnYTZVJOz0BGoD_RIMHruib_DHCZZVi3UiNbjXqbxH/s1600/d9a83e035ff4311bf75245248dbe883e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicca3HfkIzjWwLi96CZNwZxWlfy9nGwotKdDfKwFNU6_W2I4xEEerBLDWywniEW6bjVOQpiynSJjXOpxKWHaDbq-9OpgW2uekyg0dnYTZVJOz0BGoD_RIMHruib_DHCZZVi3UiNbjXqbxH/s320/d9a83e035ff4311bf75245248dbe883e.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve seriously had some of the best lines in the movie....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndBwkZLXxsXyqpzlRHQdrVa-MFEAxYNSkwKXEdWKKq7Sv3Fvm7STzN08RaHp5jBeTx5jAj-J9KeIYd-A94jxyAnc0tTRqBLK1N_x4qQrwcFkUFljCddDTX0OJSLa-XZhlnq9l6ZKG9aBF/s1600/BUCKYYYYYY!!!!.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndBwkZLXxsXyqpzlRHQdrVa-MFEAxYNSkwKXEdWKKq7Sv3Fvm7STzN08RaHp5jBeTx5jAj-J9KeIYd-A94jxyAnc0tTRqBLK1N_x4qQrwcFkUFljCddDTX0OJSLa-XZhlnq9l6ZKG9aBF/s320/BUCKYYYYYY!!!!.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bucky's finest moment.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRafANV58dpXv-_tKmXl41PeoBhhn-iX_Rf1V7Tj12na1NPY_aogLJskhN2JtZ0iKDQq0VXDNNFqR9v-v6OpPrhtTwkeu_39-pto75d6Sw3FBqBjskfiJLUtCyMY-vDmeXCDVNhXJKU-I/s1600/4a8409ed150310d2dd3ef6e11e5f49ae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRafANV58dpXv-_tKmXl41PeoBhhn-iX_Rf1V7Tj12na1NPY_aogLJskhN2JtZ0iKDQq0VXDNNFqR9v-v6OpPrhtTwkeu_39-pto75d6Sw3FBqBjskfiJLUtCyMY-vDmeXCDVNhXJKU-I/s200/4a8409ed150310d2dd3ef6e11e5f49ae.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So humble.... : )</td></tr>
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<strong><span lang="en-US">Just So
You Know...</span></strong><span lang="en-US"><br /></span>This movie is rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action," plus some language (mostly the Lord's name taken in vain, a few D-words, a few H-words, and a few other random words) and a mild kissing scene. We watch the movie with ClearPlay, which bleeps out the language and skips a few shots, but I've seen it without ClearPlay a few times. To see a more detailed account of the language, etc, read <a href="http://www.pluggedin.com/videos/2011/q4/captainamericathefirstavenger.aspx">the PluggedIn review</a>.<br />
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<strong>The Bottom Line</strong><br />
This is an amazing movie. Honestly, it's one of my favorite movies I saw last year and one of my favorite movies of all time. I love it to bits and pieces, can't ever recommend it enough, and have seen it nearly a dozen times and it still hasn't gotten old. Patriotism never does. : )<br />
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~Eowyn~Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-62486737278238902422013-07-06T17:45:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:53:53.975-07:00Letters II<div dir="ltr">
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Dear church family – You guys are so amazing. I can't believe that God has blessed me with such amazing friends! I thought that when we moved from North Carolina to Georgia that I wouldn't find anybody even <em>remotely</em> interested in the things I like or who have the same convictions. Well, whatdya know, it's only been four years since moving and I can't decide whether I'm a Georgia Girl or a North Carolina Girl! (Let's just say I'm a Southern Girl and leave it at that.) Honestly, though.... You guys are awesome. It makes me laugh the things we talk about sometimes.... How our conversation can change from something like <em>The Avengers</em> and <em>Pride and Prejudice</em> to some really deep topics! I've loved getting to know you guys and I hope I'll know y'all for the rest of my life.</div>
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Dear Class of 2013 – Well, we've finally done it!! WOOT!! Looks like '13 is our lucky number. ; ) Congrats to all of you wonderful, wonderful grads. Looks like we'll finally be able to say, like Edna, <a href="http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2013/06/29/disney-quotes-that-should-have-been-your-yearbook-quote/">"I never look back, Darling. It distracts from the now." – Edna Mode, <em>The Incredibles</em></a>.</div>
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Dear Mom and Dad – You guys are The. Best. Parents. Ever. I now love the broken microwave to bits and pieces because, even though it has duct tape holding the handle onto it, it means that you found a way around getting a new one, which gave you the means to give me the best graduation present ever. LOVE YOU!!!!</div>
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Dear Pixar People – Thank you for making the effort to stay family-friendly! I had the best pre-graduation party a girl could ask for the other day when all of my friends graduating with me, plus a few other people, went to see <em>Monsters University</em>. It was awesome and we enjoyed it.</div>
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Dear Richard Armitage – The other day, I saw a quote from you that said: "I don't think actors need to go on pedestals. I don't buy it. I think it's a weird thing. It's like you become someone else, like stepping into another universe." <em>Why do you have to be so awesome?!</em></div>
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Dear <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cr63cqLk4Y">Hardy Boys TV show from the '70's</a> – B'HAHAHAHAHA!!!!</div>
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Dear Faramir – Sighhhhh.... I don't know why people don't like you. You're overshadowed by more handsome men, I guess.... If only people could see that it's what's <em>inside</em> that counts!! If they knew that, how could they read a quote like, "I would not use the Ring. Not if Minas Tirith were falling in ruin and I alone could save her." and NOT LIKE YOU?! You are and forever will be my favorite character in the LOTR trilogy.</div>
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Dear Aaron Tveit – If you cut your hair out of sympathy and support for the crew member of <em>Graceland </em>who had cancer, I renounce all of the mean things I said about you when I first heard that you cut your hair. If not, well.... Either way, please don't cut it that short ever again!!</div>
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Dear Unwritten Community Story – Why must you be so hard on me? I'm trying to write you and, so far, you've failed to give me so much as a plot to go off of! All I have is characters and a setting!! I need more. I have to write! Please. Help me. You're my only hope.</div>
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Dear <em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBSItZ4T86I">Penelope</a></em> – I love you. That is all.</div>
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Dear Blog Readers – You will all be eternally jealous of me when I say this, but....</div>
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Here's the official announcement of what The Graduation Gift To End All Graduation Gifts is. For my graduation, I got a ton of money to spend on something "very special" from my grandparents on my dad's side, then a suitcase from my mom's mom, then a luggage tag and bag from my parents that read, 'Go Places, See Stuff.'</div>
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Well. I opened the luggage tag and bag, read what it said aloud, and my mom asked, "Would you like to go places and see stuff?" I could only reply, "Yeah...." (After all, this was at midnight-thirty, after being at my grandparents' for a week, then moving rooms from upstairs to downstairs with Jellybean – WOOT! – then cleaning, then rehearsing, then graduating, then having a swing dance....pictures to follow, btw....)</div>
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Then, my dad said....</div>
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CUE EPIC MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!</div>
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"You and I are going to New York to see a Broadway Show."</div>
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GAHHH!!!!!!!!!!! DSHDIEPP;;SGHKWNPGISNJALKFHGPBJSNDAMGSKBLNASFNLGMJAIDBGS;ND/BOPSI!!!!!</div>
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Yes, it's true, dear readers!! I'M GOING TO BROADWAY!!! IN LESS THAN A MONTH!!!!!</div>
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24 days, to be exact.</div>
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SO EXCITED!!!!</div>
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So. Yeah. Totally excited.</div>
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What shall I be seeing, you ask? Well. We're going to be there two days (actually, we're going to be gone from July 30th thru August 2nd, but we're allowing two days for travel), so I said, "Hey, Dad. We'll be there two days. We can see two shows!!" Muahahahahaha.....</div>
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Turns out, the Special Money To Spend On Something Very Special from my grandparents was for one of the shows, so I only have to pay for one. WOOT! (Third time I've said that in one blog post. *nods* I'm a little crazy.)</div>
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Enough with the chatter! I'll be seeing <em>Wicked</em> and <em>Cinderella</em>. ON BROADWAY. Totally a dream come true. (Time to find a new dream, eh, Flynn?)</div>
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So, yeah. I'm more than a little excited. Ecstatic, actually. : )</div>
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I'll also be seeing the sights a little, which is going to be fun! I've also gotten orders to see specific places, get souvenirs for my siblings, and call certain friends and family from Times Square.</div>
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Needless to say, there will be much NYC posting and pictures GALORE and musical gushing and randomness going on over the next month or so. So be forewarned.</div>
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I signed up for Camp NaNo this month, but, lolz, we'll see how that goes. We've been finishing out our basement over the last few months, and during the past week, I've done more painting, grouting, and back-breaking than I've done in my LIFE. My fingers, fingernails, arms, legs, face, and hair has so much paint in it.... Insane. *rolls eyes* But I'm having fun. Having to charge up my little 2gig shuffle every night so I can listen to the Little Women musical every day while I work. Fun! : ) Anyway, that's what I've been doing. Lack of posting flows out of that. Terribly sorry! Howevs. I know my friends will get tired of me talking about my EPIC TRIP!!! so often, so I'll be posting about it on here. A LOT.</div>
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So I guess I'll see you guys later. : D</div>
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AMEN FOR NNNNNYYYYYYYCCCCCC!!!</div>
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-Eowyn-</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-85112906148488149552013-06-26T16:31:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:53:44.019-07:00"Cheer up! I am still here. I have never left you, and I never will!"<div dir="ltr">
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If that doesn't say what this post is intended to say, I don't know what will. : )</div>
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I've been craaaazy busy these past few weeks, but it looks like I'll have some time later this week or next to update you on my insane life, do some random blog posts, tell you guys ALL about my graduation last Saturday (had a blast!), and let you all become eternally jealous of me as I tell you about The Graduation Gift That Rivals All Graduation Gifts Past. *nods* Yup.</div>
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(The title quote, by the way, is from one of my favorite Gilbert and Sullivan operas, <em>Patience</em>. So funny! I like the Anthony Warlow version best. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugeH9xd9zE">This</a> is one of the best scenes!)</div>
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I'll leave you all with a link to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnaojlfdUbs">two minutes of pure epicness</a> and a fond au revoir!!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-73604954570454909642013-06-07T08:42:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:53:33.214-07:00The June Crusade Tag!<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">(Ahh, yes. Two tags in a row. Lazy blogging at its best. Hey. I have a busy life. Deep and profound blog posts will come later.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well, it's that time of year again! Anne-girl over at </span><a href="http://scribblingskeyboard.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Scribblings of My Pen and Tappings of My Keyboard</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> is hosting The June Crusade again, which I thought was a grand success last year – after all, I got a novel out of it! : D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Greatly looking forward to this year where, instead of writing 50k words (my schedule doesn't allow it this year...... *insert sad Laurie face from Meg's wedding*), we'll be doing a peer review/critique of another participant's novel! Exciting, right? I've been teamed up with Kendra Ardnek and I've been enjoying getting to know her and reading her novel, <em>The Ankulen</em>. (Check out her </span><a href="http://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">, if you have the time!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">To start things off, Anne-girl has issued a tag for all the participants, to be answered by my characters!</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Hey, you guys.... This is Nikki Scott. (Haha, this is kinda weird....) Eowyn wanted me to answer these questions, but I got a little nervous about answering them myself. Alec was busy, so I decided to ask my best friend, Natalie, to help me.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">So I'm only your second choice?</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Not exactly! I mean... ummm.... Yeah. But I can't wait to do this with you!</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Me, neither. Let's do this thing!</span></strong></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Describe your author in one word. </span></u></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Only one word? Wow.... That's hard!</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She's kinda weird....</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I know, but I was trying to be nice. She's going to read this, Nat.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I know! So it'll help her like us more if she knows our true feelings for her. Right?</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Um... I don't think so. Think of a nice word to describe her.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She's a nerd. A geeky nerd.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Ha! Well, knowing Eowyn, I think she'd probably agree with you. She's a self-proclaimed Whomizzer.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">See? Weird!</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Moving on.</span></em></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">If your author had a theme song what would it be?</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><em>'I Have Confidence' from </em>The Sound of Music<em>. *nods*</em></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I don't think so, Nick. I think she's exactly like Jo from <em>Little Women</em>, so her theme song would be 'Astonishing' from the musical.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Minus the feminism.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Probably. She's independent, though.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah.</span></em></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">If you could pick an actor to play your author who would it be?</span></u></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Ooh, I know! Ashley Clements!</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><em>I'd say Samantha Barks.</em> <em>She'd be happy we gave her a beautiful voice.</em></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Probably.</span></strong></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">What are your author's strengths?</span></u></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">People tell her all the time that her eyes are <em>really</em> blue.... To the point of it becoming slightly annoying.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">That's not a strength, Nat. I'd say she's got a determined nature – she'll work hard at a job to do until it's done.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah. And she's a people person. She loves kids.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And an introvert. But in a good kind of way.</span></em></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Weaknesses?</span></u></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">*cracks knuckles* Well. Let me tell you. I've spent a year with this girl and –</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Hey! Be nice.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I'm being honest. She's really prideful sometimes. And a little selfish.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And self-centered at times, but she's trying to be more focused on others.</span></em></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">What type of laugh does he or she have?</span></u></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Her laugh changes! Have you noticed that, Nat?</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yup. She recently started laughing like Jordan from </span></strong><a href="http://youtube.com/blimeycow"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">BlimeyCow</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> after doing a marathon of episodes.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I'd say her normal laugh is more of a guffaw, really. Yeah. A loud and slightly annoying guffaw.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah.... Whatever <em>that</em> is.</span></strong></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Any strange hobbies?</span></u></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She collects stamps!</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And she sings. A lot. Whether it's in tune or not.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And she plays piano and violin.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And she writes. That's strange.</span></strong></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">What was the weirdest thing she did for his/her writing?</span></u></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She once wrote fifty thousand words in a month. That's weird.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah, she's crazy. Other than that, she once climbed a tree and wrote on her laptop... at her piano teacher's house....</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah.... She also has a folder on her laptop of actors and actresses she likes so that she can cast them as her characters.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And constantly freaks her dad out about saving all these pictures of good-looking guys.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">But! Be not dismayed, dear father of Eowyn. She's only getting a picture of him so that she can study his features... so that she can best describe how she'll kill him off.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah. Or make him be a public disgrace forever by ruining his good looks with a freak burning oil accident.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah.</span></em></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></u> </div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">If you could make him/her do one thing differently what would it be?</span></u></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She needs to write more.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Girl, you're crazy! She writes herself insane already.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah, but she doesn't do it enough.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Whatever. I'd say she needs to publish her novel. It's been on her mind too long, and if she doesn't do it now, she'll start doubting herself and get scared and not be able to do it.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And then we'll never see the light of day!</span></strong></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></u> </div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">What is your favorite thing about his/her writing?</span></u></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She listens to a ton of movie soundtracks while she writes, so that's fun to listen to.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong>And JOSH GROBAN!!!!</strong></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yes. And Josh. We're all very fond of his voice around here.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And she always rewards herself with chocolate, which is a plus.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And when she rewards herself with chocolate, she writes better. Which means we act and talk like real people.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And aren't cardboard characters. And then she gets obsessed with us and replies to tags in our voices.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Which is something we probably should have said earlier.... In the strange habits question....</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Yeah.</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well. I have to go practice at the rink. Nationals is coming up and we have to be on our toes.</span></em></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Literally. Hey, stop rolling your eyes at me!</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></strong> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">-----------</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Well. That was one of the weirdest thing I've ever done. : D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">~Eowyn~</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-30275196326287801352013-06-05T07:43:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:53:00.814-07:00The Barricade Boys Week Tag!<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">Hello, Blogosphere!</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Sorry for the long absence – been terribly busy with school and whatnot, so I decided to leave you with my short story for a long time. Glad you all enjoyed it! Your comments totally made my day. : )</span></div>
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So. Over at <a href="http://ramblings-janeite.blogspot.com/">Rambings of a Janeite</a>, Eva is hosting a totally awesome Barricade Boys Week, dedicated totally to My Boys, who star in <em>Les Miserables</em>. (Yes. They star. Do not argue.) So far, there's been tournaments, giveaways, quotes, sob-inducing guest posts on Enjolras and Gavroche (especially the latter.... Amy, you have no compassion on my poor nerves!!), and general awesomeness! If you're a fellow Mizzer and have some time, you should definitely check it out.</div>
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I've finally found the time to answer her questions! And, instead of just writing "Enj, because he's awesome" as the answer to every question, these will be well-thought-out answers. So there.</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">Do you know about the barricade boys from the brick, the musical, the movie or all three?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;"> </span></span></li>
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A little of all three. : ) I've never read The Brick (shame, shame...), but I've read enough quotes to know that I'm going to read it as soon as I'm done with the book I'm on. : )</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">Who is your favorite barricade boy?</span></b></span></li>
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Enj. Because he's awesome.</div>
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(Behold. The exception to my promise. : D)</div>
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Seriously, though, he's honestly the best. Strong, resolute, totally determined to see the revolution through, and willing to do whatever it takes to make France free again. He's got some of the best lines in the musical ("Have you asked of yourself what's the price you might pay?" comes to mind). All of the Les Amis look up to him, which means there's something to be said about his character and what makes people look up to him. He's also got some awesome hair and an amazing sense of style, no matter who plays him and whether or not he's wearing The Vest of Power and Awesomeness. (Because, come on, y'all – didn't Aaron do a good job pulling off the non-Vested Enj? Yes, we were all sad to find out that he wasn't going to wear The Vest, but we got <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-voZR-eMZTxRxaPBRwTG_VWxfJZfPfGRRe8ZWu2xlhm6dekkrwePN4hQw_7srXv_L5uS2OFf05XyfTGyDqMoclxVKH5kbh2QYuMTp01e3LM5qKJoH1SjTQbnTFnvobF2_AULGaPHoD3eH/s1600/12.jpg">something totally awesome</a> instead, right?)</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">Who is your least favorite barricade boy (yes...I'm forcing you to choose)?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;"> </span></span></li>
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Nooooo.... *insert sad picture of Courf crying* Alright, fiiiiine. I think my least favorite would be Bahorel or Bossuet, simply because I didn't know their names until recently or anything about them. BUT. That will <em>all </em>end after I read The Brick. : )</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">What is your favorite barricade boy quote (can be from the brick or one of the songs - or both)?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;"> </span></span></li>
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Now, in this, I fear I cannot satisfy you. I have added an 's' to the word 'favorite' and changed 'is' to 'are.'</div>
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From the musical – </div>
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<span style="color: black;">"Let us die facing our foes – make them bleed while we can! </span><span style="color: black;">Make 'em pay through the nose! </span><span style="color: black;">Make 'em pay for every man! </span><span style="color: black;">Let others rise to take our place until the earth is free!"</span></div>
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"I<span style="color: black;">t is time for us all to decide who we are.... Do we fight for the right to a night at the opera now? Have you asked of yourselves what's the price you might pay? Is it simply a game for rich young boys to play? The color of the world is changing day by day...." (Then comes one of my favorite Barricade Boys song. *nods*)</span></div>
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"Drink with me to days gone by. Can it be you fear to die? Will the world remember you, when you fall? Could it be your death means nothing at all? Is your life just one more lie?"</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">Which barricade boy do you think you have the most in common with?</span></b></span></li>
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A friend of mine says I'm like Feuilly, but I think I'm more like Jehan Prouvaire, who likes flowers and walks and books. : )</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">What is your favorite barricade boy-related song (i.e., Do You Hear The People Sing?, Drink With Me, Turning)?</span></b></span></li>
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Do You Hear the People Sing? It's their call to rise and fight for freedom!</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">Which one would you most like to have lunch with (and think realistically...even if your favorite is Enjo, if you're a girl, he definitely wouldn't go out for a meal with you. Courfeyrac, however, is a different matter ;)</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;"> </span></span></li>
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Well, I'd <em>try</em> to ask Enj out and say it's only to talk about political things, but if he said no, I'd have lunch with Courf or Gavroche. : )</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.2pt;">And lastly...a hypothetical (well, the one above was a hypothetical too, but...). How do you think it would turn out if some of the barricade boys helped with your homework? :)</span></b></span></li>
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Hahahaha.... I can just see Enj making red (*wink, wink*) marks all over my math homework – "Yet another one wrong! Eowyn, you're no longer a child!" Grantaire would give me some wine, of course. Jehan and I would talk about walks and books. I don't know about the rest! After we were done with homework, though, I'd take them all to Ikea and we'd build a barricade. *nods*</div>
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-Eowyn-</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-743204227018415217.post-1990876345487227182013-05-22T10:07:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:52:34.570-07:00The Box - A Love Story<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-family: Gabriola, fantasy;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 30pt;">The Box</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Gabriola, fantasy;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A Love Story</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I stepped up to the box and scrolled through the selections. <i>'So many good movies to choose from, so little time....'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Seconds later, I spotted <i>Master and Commander</i>, something I'd been wanting to see for a while. My eyes lit up and I tapped the screen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">A message popped up – 'Selection not available at this kiosk.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My shoulders instantly drooped and I sighed, tapping back to the array of selections. As I skimmed the movies, my mind kept going back to <i>Master and Commander</i>. Nothing seemed to catch my eye.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I stepped back, eying the identical box beside me. I adjusted my purse on my shoulder and pushed my glasses up, watching the young man beside me tap its screen. Biting my lip, I took a step towards him.<br />"Um...." I pulled my hair behind my ear. "Excuse me, sir."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">He turned, his eyebrows raised. "Yes?"<br />I smiled nervously. "Can you look up a movie for me? I mean.... Do you think, if a movie wasn't in that box-" I pointed to the one I'd just walked away from - "it might be in the one you're using?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The man thought for a second, his eyebrows now furrowed. He smiled a moment later and shrugged. "Might as well try. What movie?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I stepped closer towards the box so that I could see the screen. "<i>Master and Commander</i>."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I watched him tap the screen. The movie came up a moment later and he tapped it. "Looks like it's here. Do you want it?"<br />"Yes," I replied, beaming. "I've been wanting to see it for a while now and didn't know they had it here. I've heard that it's a really good movie, and, I mean, it's got Russell Crowe in it and I loved him in...." I stopped and felt my face grow hot. "Sorry.... I talk a lot when I'm excited."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The young man laughed. "I don't mind. I have sisters, so I know."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">He glanced back at me with a wink and I smiled up at him, taking in his strikingly blue eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Just let me finish up here," he said, tapping the screen again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I couldn't help but notice the movie he was checking out. "<i>Pride and Prejudice</i>!" I exclaimed before thinking about what I was saying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The young man seemed to freeze for a split second. He tapped the screen once more and cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, getting it for my sister." He gave me a lopsided grin. "Actually, I'm getting it because she told me to. She's been begging to watch it with me for a few months now."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Well, you should be excited. It's a great movie," I told him. "One of my favorites!"<br />"Oh, really?" He took the movie out of the box and stepped aside. I tapped on the screen and he continued. "Weird as this may seem, <i>Master and Commander</i> is one of <i>my</i> favorite movies."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">My gaze shot towards him. I stared at him for a minute, then burst out laughing. "What a coincidence!" I turned to the box again, shaking my head. "Weird. My sister-in-law keeps telling me to watch it."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The young man smiled. "You won't be disappointed. Unless you don't like period dramas or tales of high adventure...."<br />"Favorite genre ever," I told him. I took the movie out of the box and turned towards him. Grinning, I put my hand out. As he shook it, I said, "Well, it's been great meeting you!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Likewise," he agreed, smiling. "Enjoy the movie."<br />"Same to you!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 29pt;">~</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>Pride and Prejudice</i> turned out to be a great movie... all five hours of it. I enjoyed most of it – except the part with Lydia and Wickham. I knew that guy was fishy from the first second he appeared onscreen. When I told Liz this, she just laughed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">As I stood in line for the box to return the movie the next day, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd see that girl again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><i>'I never even got her name,'</i> I realized with a grin. I glanced around, but didn't see her face amongst the few there. <i>'It would make sense, though. I've had </i>Pride and Prejudice<i> for three days, and she probably watch </i>Master and Commander<i> the day she got it.'</i></span></div>
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<i></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I stepped up to the box and returned my movie. I tapped through the selections again, whistling a tune that'd been stuck in my head for a few days. Seeing nothing I wanted to watch, I turned to leave – and bumped into the person standing in line behind me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Excuse me!" I sincerely apologized, holding my hands out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"That's okay...." The young woman burst out laughing. "Haven't I met you before?"<br />I grinned and nodded. "You got <i>Master and Commander</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">. What'd you think?"<br />"Oh, I just loved it!" she responded, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder. "Except for the parts when main characters died. I've never done well with authors or screenwriters killing off main characters...." She folded her arms and smiled up at me, the sun slightly reflecting off the sunglasses that kept her hair back. "What'd you think about <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I enjoyed it," I replied, shoving my hands in my pockets. "That Wickham guy, though.... Man. Didn't like him at all."<br />"I've never met anyone who did!" the girl joked. "Jane Austen writes a good bad guy."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"A 'good bad guy'?" I echoed, laughing. "What's that supposed to mean?"<br />She rolled her eyes in response and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I meant to say that she writes a <i>convincing</i> bad guy. You really hate him, but you kind of understand why he's so bad."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I get it." I nodded. "Kinda reminds me of Aubrey from <i>Master and Commander</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">. He's a hero, but he's got his faults."<br />"Yeah, but that's more along the lines of Mr. Darcy, who was the real hero of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">."<br />"True.... He's so prideful!"<br />"Yeah," she replied. "It drove me <i>nuts</i> the first time I watched it...."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I grinned. "Same here. Colin Firth is a good actor."<br />"As was Russell Crowe. I think they portrayed their characters very well, don't you?"<br />Before I had a chance to reply, someone behind the girl coughed loudly. Someone else said, "Hey, can you carry on this conversation somewhere else? We've got better things to do than stand here and listen to you guys chat about movies."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I grinned, nodding. "Sure."<br />The girl stepped up to return her movie and I stood beside the box. More than a little awkwardly, I might add. I didn't know whether to wait for her to be done or just leave.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Thanks for waiting," the girl told me when she'd finished returning her movie. "I wanted to talk to you some more, if I could.... That is, unless you're busy and need to do something else somewhere else...." Her voice trailed off and she stood there, looking up at me expectantly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">How could I say no?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 29pt;">~</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We sat in a coffee shop together and talked for hours. I knew it wasn't a date – after all, he didn't offer to buy my coffee – but I enjoyed it all the same.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">About an hour into the conversation, one of my friends walked into the coffee shop. I waved and she walked over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Hey, Mandie!" I greeted her with a wide grin. "This is my friend.... Um...." I burst out laughing, staring at the young man sitting across from me. "I never got your name...."<br />"I'm Sam," he replied, chuckling. "And you're...?"<br />I almost couldn't stop laughing after I'd realized I'd never given him <i>my</i> name, either. "I'm April," I told him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">He put his hand out across the table. "Nice to meet you, April."<br />"Likewise." I shook his hand, then turned to Mandie again. "Mandie, this is my friend Sam. Sam, this is Mandie."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's a pleasure," Sam said, shaking Mandie's hand.<br />"Same here," Mandie replied, giving me a look. "What're you guys doing here?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Just talking," I replied, knowing what she was wondering and wishing that mental telepathy worked. "I just met him a few days ago."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Oh, how nice." Mandie glanced back towards the counter, where a line had formed. "Well, I'd love to chat, but I really have to go. I have a friend waiting in line."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"See you later, then," I answered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Bye." Mandie waved, then walked to the line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Well, that was a little weird," I told Sam. "I've never done that before."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"What?" he asked, sipping his coffee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I've never introduced a friend to someone without knowing their name!" I laughed, shook my head, and nibbled on the straw of my frappuccino.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's a first for me, too."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sam grinned at me and I smiled back, blushing a little.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"So. Where were we?" Sam asked.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Umm...." I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking. "Oh, yeah. We were talking about how movies compare to books and <i>The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe</i>, which reminds me...." I thought about how to phrase my thoughts, then took the plunge. "I think C.S. Lewis wrote a very compelling allegory in the Chronicles of Narnia. Don't you think so?"<br />Sam nodded and put his coffee down. "I read the books when I was a kid. Loved them, but didn't really think of them as any more than a story. About, oh, five years or so ago, I re-read them, specifically to look for the allegorical connotations. I wrote a dissertation on it for my master's degree."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Wow. What is your master's in?"<br />He smiled timidly. "Pastoral Theology. I've been working on it for a few years ago and finally completed it last month."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I shook my head, finishing off my drink. "That's crazy. You don't look a day over twenty-three! How can you have a master's already?"<br />"I'm twenty-five," he corrected me, shrugging, "but people think I'm younger than I really am all the time. Always have, and my sister Liz says that they probably always will. Also, I've been working on my master's since I turned twenty. I graduated from seminary early." He grinned. "But enough about me. What do you do?"<br />"Well, I just finished my degree last year. Nothing fancy, just high school lit."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"There have to be teachers in the world, April," Sam said.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">For a split second, it felt a little weird to hear him say my name, but I'd gotten used to it and liked it – a lot, actually – only a moment later.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's where all the other professions come from," he continued.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I nodded. "I love teaching. I started at Apple Valley High during my first year of grad school and basically got addicted to it. I love the kids, I love the atmosphere – well, most of the time...." I smiled. "I also love researching books and their various adaptions. Which is why I've seen <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and why I've been wanting to see <i>Master and Commander</i>."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I see," Sam replied, nodding.</span></div>
<div align="center" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 29pt;">~</span></b></span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I loved talking to April. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was someone special. That idea blossomed as I discussed movies and books with her. And not just trifling parts of those books and movies – no, she brought out details in books that I'd never considered before. We talked for at least an hour about <i>The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe</i>, and I enjoyed it much more than any lecture I'd ever received on the subject.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Four hours later, I looked at my watch and realized that I'd promised to help Liz with a project an hour earlier. I didn't want to leave, but April understood and said that she needed to get back to her apartment, too.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We exchanged phone numbers and I invited her to coffee again a week later. She accepted with grace and I nearly went through the roof with joy.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The week went by slowly, then faster, then much slower again. I couldn't get April out of my mind and was constantly thinking about her. Even Liz noticed that something was up. When she asked me about it, however, I didn't know what to say. On a whim, I asked her to come with me to meet April and so that our second meeting wouldn't be quite as awkward as the first and would seem like less of a date.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Okay, I'll come," Liz replied. "But I'm not going to be a third wheel. If you guys get into a deep discussion and I suddenly feel the urge to go shopping, don't keep me there."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"You won't be a third wheel," I told her.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She grinned. "Come on.... It's your second date with this girl."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's not a date, Liz."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"You can bet your sweet life it is, Sam," she laughed. "Anyway, it'll probably look like you asked me to come to make you feel less scared or something. I'll just pop in, meet this girl, say hi, and leave. You don't want me hanging around there with you."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"That's not true, Liz," I countered.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"We'll see."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The day came and I literally couldn't stop grinning. I'd never felt this way before – about <i>any</i> girl – and didn't really know how to cope. I made it through the day, though, and left our house with plenty of time to spare before our 7 o'clock... meeting. I still refused to call it a date.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Hi, Sam!" April greeted me as she walked through the door of the coffee shop.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Hey." I grinned and waved her over. I stood as she walked up to our booth and motioned to Liz. "This is my sister, Liz."<br />"Oh, you're the one who really loves <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, right?"</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Liz smiled. "How did you know?" she asked, glancing at me.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Sam told me about you when I saw movie he was getting the other day."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's one of my favorites," Liz replied, sitting down.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">April sat down next to her, and I sat across from them.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I'm going to go up there and order," I told her, standing up again. "What would you two like? My treat."<br />Liz shot me a look that I could read blindfolded. It read: This is <i>so</i> a date.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Oh." April smiled. "Thank you. I'll take a mocha coffee. Tall, please."<br />"That's my favorite!" Liz told her.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"How weird!" April replied.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I'll take that, too," Liz quickly told me, then turned back to April again. "I especially like it with a shot of peppermint."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"That sounds <i>amazing</i>," I heard April tell her as I walked away.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I smiled.</span></div>
<div align="center" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 29pt;">~</span></b></span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I really enjoyed my second talk with Sam. I knew it wasn't a date – especially since he'd invited his sister to come along – and I couldn't have been happier to talk with him again.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"So, what do <i>you</i> do for a living, Liz?" I asked her about two hours into our conversation.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I'm a librarian at Rock Hill Middle." She smiled. "It's where I got my love of reading when I was a little girl, and I've always wanted to go back there and pass on that love to other kids."<br />"Teaching is so much fun," I told her.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Isn't it? I mean, I don't really get to 'teach' the kids, but I get one-on-one time very often and enjoy it a lot."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Same here," I replied. I turned to Sam. "Where are you going to teach? I mean, now that you've got your master's?"<br />"I'm actually a professor at Harrison Community College right now, and I'll be transferred to Madison State in a month or two."<br />"How exciting!"</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We talked about the differences in our teaching environments for a few minutes, then the talk turned to our families.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I was homeschooled until high school," I told Sam and Liz, "then, when I went to high school, I noticed a lack of good lit teachers. I mean, mine was fine, but.... I knew that not every kid who ever went to Ashworth High would get Mrs. Turner. So I decided to teach."<br />"That's neat. I have a few of friends who were homeschooled," Sam said.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Actually, we were homeschooled for a few years," Liz told me.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Three years hardly counts," Sam told her.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's <i>something</i>." Liz rolled her eyes and turned to me. "Then, our mom passed away, so we had to go to private school."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Oh.... I'm sorry," I said.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We sat in awkward silence for a minute and I decided to change the topic. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"<br />Liz smiled and nodded. "I have an older brother named Sam." They grinned at each other as she went on. "He used to be a real pain, but now he's shaping up to be a real Mr. Darcy."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Hey!" Sam interjected. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Liz just laughed in reply.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Do you have any siblings, April?" he asked me.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Yes," I replied, nodding my head. "I have an older brother and two younger sisters."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Two sisters? Lucky duck," Liz muttered. She laughed and poked Sam's arm. "I'm just kidding, Sammy. I wouldn't trade you for anything."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I wish I could say the same about you," he said, winking at her a second later.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"It's nice, but it can be a real pain when you have to share a room... especially with <i>both</i> of them."<br />"And, suddenly, I'm glad I'm the only girl!" Liz told me, smiling.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I laughed.</span></div>
<div align="center" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 29pt;">~</span></b></span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We parted ways an hour or so later. I had a lecture to study for, as did April. We didn't set up another coffee appointment, so I knew the next time I invited her out would be a real date.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"She's really nice," Liz told me during the car ride back home. She turned to me. "The next time you two get together is going to be an actual factual date – you do know that, right?"</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I smiled at her. "Yes, I know. I was just thinking about that."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I repositioned my hands on the wheel. Liz must have registered that as nervousness, because she turned on the reassuring switch.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"You're going to be great," she told me, patting my arm. "You did a great job keeping the conversation going back there at the coffee shop, so who's to say you won't do that at a fancy sit-down restaurant?"</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"I'm not nervous," I told her.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Then what are you?"</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I smiled and she laughed.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"You can't wait to get together with her again, am I right?" I nodded and she pumped her fist. "I <i>knew</i> it! Well, you're a very lucky guy to have her," she told me, patting my arm again.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Would you please stop doing that?" I asked, swatting the air in her direction. "It feels <i>weird</i>. Also, she's not my girl and I don't 'have her.' I don't even know where or when we're going to go on our next date – I mean, our first." I frowned slightly. "Our first."<br />Liz laughed the whole way home, which, luckily for me, was only about ten more minutes.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Our first date ended up being at Longhorn three nights later. I met April at the door and held it open for her. As she walked through, I took notice of her casual evening dress and was instantly glad that I had made the effort to dress well.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Thanks for inviting me to dinner," April said as we sat down in a corner booth. "I've really enjoyed talking to you."<br />"Me, too," I replied, smiling.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The next few minutes were spent looking through the menu. I was glad we didn't talk much during this, because I was replaying something she'd said when we first met over and over in my mind. I'd been thinking about it ever since we met and wondering what it meant.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I finally decided on a stealthy way to find out. I took a sip of my water, glancing up at her left hand. <i>'She's not wearing a ring....'</i> I smiled a little, then studied my menu, thinking. <i>'What did she mean, though, when she said she had a sister-in-law?'</i></span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Are you ready to order?" a waiter asked a moment later, interrupting my thoughts.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I glanced at April. She nodded and I looked at the waiter and nodded, "Yes, we are."<br />"Alright, what can I get for you two tonight?"<br />We placed our orders, both deciding on the same thing before even mentioning it to each other, which made her laugh.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I made an attempt at small talk while we waited for our food, which barely lasted us until then. When our food arrived, we laughed again about ordering the same thing.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"This is really good," I said, pointing at my food with my fork. With a grin, I added, "How about yours?"<br />April laughed and I smiled. If a laugh could be described as a trickling waterfall, April's laugh would be the definition's example.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We ate in silence for a minute, then I decided to take the plunge. I took a sip of my water and set down my glass, thinking intensely. A split second later, I crossed my arms on the table and abruptly leaned forward. "I have a question for you."<br />"Okay," April slowly replied. She put her glass down and smiled at me. "And what might that be?"<br />"Are you...." I paused, wincing at the absurdity of the question. A random thought whizzed through my mind, but I decided to ask her anyway, in as quick a way as possible. "Are you married?"<br />"Am I...." April burst out laughing. "Am I <i>married</i>? What kind of question is that?"<br />I grinned. "I don't know...."<br />"If I was married, do you think I'd have accepted your invitation to dinner?" April asked me, her eyes twinkling.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I chuckled. "I guess not.... But I just felt the need to ask." I tapped my fingers on the table. "But what was that about your sister-in-law, then?"<br />"What?" April asked, furrowing her brow and cocking her head slightly.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"The day I met you, you said something about your sister-in-law. Oh, I remember. You said that your sister-in-law kept telling you to watch <i>Master and Commander</i>."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She thought for a moment, then her face lit up. "Heather is my <i>brother's</i> wife. My older brother Vince married Heather about two years ago, and she then became my sister-in-law." She smiled and shook her head. "I'm not married."<br />I grinned. "Good. I'm glad. I mean, uh...."</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">April burst out laughing again. I joined in her laughter... partially from relief, but also from excitement.</span></div>
<div align="center" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-size: 29pt;">~</span></b></span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Two years later, Sam and I were married. Every year on the anniversary of the day we met, we go to the box together and pick out a movie. We're enjoying our life together and couldn't be happier.</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">It makes me laugh when I think about how we met. Who could have thought that a love story as sweet as ours could have come from a chance encounter at a box?</span></div>
<div align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Sometimes, little things can impact us in such a way that we're forever reminded of them. And forever grateful.</span></div>
<div align="center" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Gabriola, fantasy;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: 25pt;">The End.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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