i <3 fridays

(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?!])

 

I love Fridays.  They are, without a doubt, my favorite day of the week, with Sundays coming in as a close second.

 

Fridays are awesome.  They're the end of something awful (the school week – ick) and the promise of something awesome (THE WEEKEND!!  WOOT!!!).

 

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.

 

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.  : )

 

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.)

 

I haven't written anything in SO. LONG, so it's really, really nice to be writing again.  The novel is coming along well.  It's extremely character-driven (much like Cranford, 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.  : )

 

Well, I think Josh is calling me back.  ('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....'  Sighhhh....  Yups.)  I'll leave y'all with a paragraph I just finished.

 

"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."

 

~Eowyn~

NYC: Day One

(Heehee....  I can hear you guys squealing....  "Pictures!!"  Yes.  Now hush.)

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 Wicked and Cinderella, respectively) I won't be able to contain the fangirlish randomly-pounding-the-keyboard-while-the-caps-lock-is-on.  (If you catch my drift.)

Onwards.


Pre-Trip Stuffs

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.)




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.

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.

My Day One outfit, all set out!

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.

Day One: Welcome to New York

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.)

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.

YAY!!!

 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.



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.

Yes, we ate at a bar and it was delicious.  Your point is?
(Totally recommend, by the by.  If ever any of you are in NYC....)

My cheeseburger and mashed potatoes from that night.  (Minus the bun.)  Yummmm......

The post office near our hotel - awesome!!  We went inside the next day.

At the very top of our first hotel - the twentieth floor - and sitting as far away from the edge as possible.  : )

The view from the top of the hotel, with Freedom Tower in the background.  SO PRETTY!!

Another view down to the street from the hotel.  : )

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!!!

Sneak peek:

 

So excited to share more pictures and stories with all y'all!!!

~Eowyn~



three letters: nyc

My dad and I with the Statue of Liberty behind us

: )

I have been smiling since....  well, since I can't remember.  My thoughts right now are much like Rapunzel's from Tangled - "I can't believe I did this!"

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!

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 Les Miserables 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....

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.  : )

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.])

What say ye?

~Eowyn~

START SPREADIN' THE NEWS - I'M LEAVING TODAY!!!!!!

SHIOLKNLSGBUAOIHLNTAKLGIHLSK'A;OIHLSGSILHJ;LKSAPIUWNKVSOPIGUSP!!!!!!!!!

Yeahhhhh.....  All the feels.....  : )

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....

Yups.  : )

Au rivoir!!!!!!!

~Eowyn~

one day more.

Well, it's actually more like Half A Day More, but that is neither here nor there.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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 Mary Poppins comes to mind....

 

'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!'

 

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.

 

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.

 

Well, I have to go now.  I need to finish up something, but I can't really remember what it was....  : P

 

(Oh, looky there.  A whole blog post and only one exclamation mark.  Well, I'll fix that.)

 

I'm going to NYC in ONE.... DAY............ MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

~Eowyn~

Kindergarten Troubles

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.)

 

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.

 

"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?"

 

"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...."

 

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!!

It went on like this for about twenty minutes.  Seriously, guys.  Twenty minutes.  Finally, my mom said, "This is taking way 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.

 

When they were done, Nut-Nut started crying, saying he didn't know why.  Mom asked him again – "What do cucumber seeds make?"

 

More of the same, "Ummmmm...."

 

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.

 

Mom said, "What grows on blueberry bushes?  Like the blueberry bushes we have outside our house?"

 

"Um....  Blueberries?"

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.)

 

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!

 

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!

 

~Eowyn~

It's next week, y'all. Next. WEEK!!!!!

Sighhhhh.......  I can't belieeeeeve 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 know - 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 frillions 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.  ; )

Ahh, well.  I can feel the green (GREEN!  AND I'M SEEING WICKED!!  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.

On Friday, my family is going to a masquerade ball.  (Well, that is what's going on.....  I know some of you are becoming jealous again, but, hey....)  I'm going as Rose Tyler from Doctor Who, and a friend of mine is going as the Doctor.  (Ten.  Duuuuuuhhhh....)  I'm going to be wearing her outfit from the episode called The Idiot's Lantern (shown at right), and have had much help from Ally.  (THANK YOU!!!!)

I went on a shopping trip for fun (and to look for a few essentials for my costume) with Katelyn 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 some 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 not 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....)

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 Princess Bride, 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.  : )

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!!  (That was too long....  Yups, it's a confuzifying outfit.  *wink, wink*)

~Eowyn~

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!

JellyBean

I feel so bad!  My little sister, whose nickname is JellyBean and who you met a few months ago, is nearly four months old and I haven't posted a single picture of her since March!!!  YIKES!!!

To compensate, here are a bunch.  Enjoy.  : )

This was from a few months ago, but it gives you a little glimpse of how big her cheeks are!!

"You're HOW old?!"

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!!

This child eats EVERYTHING.  Everything goes in her mouth!

 

From a few months ago.  She loves holding her hands.  It's like her comfort thing.  : )

 

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....

She's a pretty serious little girl.  Until we start a raspberry war.  Then she's all dimples and slobber.

JellyBean and Her Intended.  Seriously.  These two are going to get married someday.

Miss Bean being serious again....

"Do you see this look?  This look says, 'I wanted to go to Disney World.'  I'm not happy, Bob.  Not. Happy."

The Dimple.  : )

~Eowyn~

Review - Captain America: The First Avenger

Dr. Abraham Erskine: Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.

Synopsis
"It is 1942, America has entered World War II, and sickly but determined Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, The Fantastic Four), is frustrated at being rejected yet again for military service. Everything changes when Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl) recruits 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, Lord of the Rings), 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 IMDb)

My Opinion

Captain America was one of my first superhero movies. I'd seen Superman (yuuuuuck.... But that's another post for another time....) and Spider-Man (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 Captain America.  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.

What makes Captain America: The First Avenger so wonderful? Well, I'll tell ya!

 

The Cast and Characters 

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 (and sticks to them!!), 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!
One thing I really 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.

As for Chris Evans....  He plays Steve to perfection. End of story.

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*
Hayley Atwell made me love Peggy so much!!  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!

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.)
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.

And those are all of the characters that the plot mainly centers around.  There are, however, like a million secondary characters that I just can't leave out, so I'll do a quick run-through of my favorites.

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. "

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 the 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.

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....
Such a great guy.  : )

Howard Stark.  Tony Stark's dad.  Mind. Blown. Howard was played by Dominic Cooper, who played an extraordinarily convincing Willoughby in the '08 Sense and Sensibility.  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."

Aaaaaaaaaand....  Here's a huge shout-out to....

Richard Armitage as That German Dude With The Awesome Glasses and Awesome Gun (Heinz Kruger)

and JJ Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth.  (YAY FOR AMAZING PERIOD DRAMA FILM ACTOR CAMEOS!!!!)

Random Pictures I Couldn't Fit Anywhere Else  : )

Steve seriously had some of the best lines in the movie....

Bucky's finest moment.

So humble....  : )

Just So You Know...
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 the PluggedIn review.

The Bottom Line
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.  : )

~Eowyn~

Letters II

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 remotely 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 The Avengers and Pride and Prejudice 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.

 

 

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, "I never look back, Darling. It distracts from the now." – Edna Mode, The Incredibles.

 

 

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!!!!

 

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 Monsters University.  It was awesome and we enjoyed it.

 

 

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."  Why do you have to be so awesome?!

 

 

Dear Hardy Boys TV show from the '70's – B'HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

 

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 inside 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.

 

 

Dear Aaron Tveit – If you cut your hair out of sympathy and support for the crew member of Graceland 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!!

 

 

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.

 

 

Dear Penelope – I love you.  That is all.

 

 

Dear Blog Readers – You will all be eternally jealous of me when I say this, but....

 

 

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.'

 

 

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....)

 

 

Then, my dad said....

 

 

CUE EPIC MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

"You and I are going to New York to see a Broadway Show."

 

 

GAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!  DSHDIEPP;;SGHKWNPGISNJALKFHGPBJSNDAMGSKBLNASFNLGMJAIDBGS;ND/BOPSI!!!!!

 

 

Yes, it's true, dear readers!!  I'M GOING TO BROADWAY!!!  IN LESS THAN A MONTH!!!!!

 

 

24 days, to be exact.

 

 

SO EXCITED!!!!

 

 

So.  Yeah.  Totally excited.

 

 

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.....

 

 

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.)

 

 

Enough with the chatter!  I'll be seeing Wicked and Cinderella.  ON BROADWAY.  Totally a dream come true.  (Time to find a new dream, eh, Flynn?)

 

 

So, yeah.  I'm more than a little excited.  Ecstatic, actually.  : )

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

So I guess I'll see you guys later.  : D

 

 

AMEN FOR NNNNNYYYYYYYCCCCCC!!!

-Eowyn-

"Cheer up! I am still here. I have never left you, and I never will!"

If that doesn't say what this post is intended to say, I don't know what will.  : )

 

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.

 

(The title quote, by the way, is from one of my favorite Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Patience.  So funny!  I like the Anthony Warlow version best.  This is one of the best scenes!)

 

I'll leave you all with a link to two minutes of pure epicness and a fond au revoir!!

 

-Eowyn-

The June Crusade Tag!

(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.)

 

Well, it's that time of year again!  Anne-girl over at Scribblings of My Pen and Tappings of My Keyboard 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

 

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, The Ankulen.  (Check out her blog, if you have the time!)

 

To start things off, Anne-girl has issued a tag for all the participants, to be answered by my characters!

 

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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.

 

So I'm only your second choice?

 

Not exactly!  I mean... ummm....  Yeah.  But I can't wait to do this with you!

 

Me, neither.  Let's do this thing!

 

Describe your author in one word.

Only one word?  Wow....  That's hard!

She's kinda weird....

I know, but I was trying to be nice.  She's going to read this, Nat.

I know!  So it'll help her like us more if she knows our true feelings for her.  Right?

Um...  I don't think so.  Think of a nice word to describe her.

She's a nerd.  A geeky nerd.

Ha!  Well, knowing Eowyn, I think she'd probably agree with you.  She's a self-proclaimed Whomizzer.

See?  Weird!

Moving on.

 

If your author had a theme song what would it be?

'I Have Confidence' from The Sound of Music.  *nods*

I don't think so, Nick.  I think she's exactly like Jo from Little Women, so her theme song would be 'Astonishing' from the musical.

Minus the feminism.

Probably.  She's independent, though.

Yeah.

 

If you could pick an actor to play your author who would it be?

Ooh, I know!  Ashley Clements!

I'd say Samantha Barks.  She'd be happy we gave her a beautiful voice.

Probably.

 

What are your author's strengths?

People tell her all the time that her eyes are really blue....  To the point of it becoming slightly annoying.

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.

Yeah.  And she's a people person.  She loves kids.

And an introvert.  But in a good kind of way.

 

Weaknesses?

*cracks knuckles*  Well.  Let me tell you.  I've spent a year with this girl and –

Hey!  Be nice.

I'm being honest.  She's really prideful sometimes.  And a little selfish.

And self-centered at times, but she's trying to be more focused on others.

 

What type of laugh does he or she have?

Her laugh changes!  Have you noticed that, Nat?

Yup.  She recently started laughing like Jordan from BlimeyCow after doing a marathon of episodes.

I'd say her normal laugh is more of a guffaw, really.  Yeah.  A loud and slightly annoying guffaw.

Yeah....  Whatever that is.

 

Any strange hobbies?

She collects stamps!

And she sings.  A lot.  Whether it's in tune or not.

And she plays piano and violin.

And she writes.  That's strange.

 

What was the weirdest thing she did for his/her writing?

She once wrote fifty thousand words in a month.  That's weird.

Yeah, she's crazy.  Other than that, she once climbed a tree and wrote on her laptop... at her piano teacher's house....

Yeah....  She also has a folder on her laptop of actors and actresses she likes so that she can cast them as her characters.

And constantly freaks her dad out about saving all these pictures of good-looking guys.

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.

Yeah.  Or make him be a public disgrace forever by ruining his good looks with a freak burning oil accident.

Yeah.

 

If you could make him/her do one thing differently what would it be?

She needs to write more.

Girl, you're crazy!  She writes herself insane already.

Yeah, but she doesn't do it enough.

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.

And then we'll never see the light of day!

 

What is your favorite thing about his/her writing?

She listens to a ton of movie soundtracks while she writes, so that's fun to listen to.

And JOSH GROBAN!!!!

Yes.  And Josh.  We're all very fond of his voice around here.

And she always rewards herself with chocolate, which is a plus.

And when she rewards herself with chocolate, she writes better.  Which means we act and talk like real people.

And aren't cardboard characters.  And then she gets obsessed with us and replies to tags in our voices.

Which is something we probably should have said earlier....  In the strange habits question....

Yeah.

Well.  I have to go practice at the rink.  Nationals is coming up and we have to be on our toes.

Literally.  Hey, stop rolling your eyes at me!

 

-----------

 

Well.  That was one of the weirdest thing I've ever done.  : D

 

~Eowyn~

The Barricade Boys Week Tag!

Hello, Blogosphere!

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.  : )

 

So.  Over at Rambings of a Janeite, Eva is hosting a totally awesome Barricade Boys Week, dedicated totally to My Boys, who star in Les Miserables.  (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.

 

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.

• Do you know about the barricade boys from the brick, the musical, the movie or all three?

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.  : )

• Who is your favorite barricade boy?

Enj.  Because he's awesome.

 

(Behold.  The exception to my promise.  : D)

 

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 something totally awesome instead, right?)

• Who is your least favorite barricade boy (yes...I'm forcing you to choose)?

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 all end after I read The Brick.  : )

• What is your favorite barricade boy quote (can be from the brick or one of the songs - or both)?

Now, in this, I fear I cannot satisfy you.  I have added an 's' to the word 'favorite' and changed 'is' to 'are.'

From the musical –

"Let us die facing our foes – make them bleed while we can!  Make 'em pay through the nose!  Make 'em pay for every man!  Let others rise to take our place until the earth is free!"

"It 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*)

"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?"

• Which barricade boy do you think you have the most in common with?

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.  : )

• What is your favorite barricade boy-related song (i.e., Do You Hear The People Sing?, Drink With Me, Turning)?

Do You Hear the People Sing?  It's their call to rise and fight for freedom!

• 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 ;)

Well, I'd try 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.  : )

• 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? :)

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*

 

-Eowyn-