Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What would you say is your strongest sense? 

  Probably smell, sure, it would be fun to say I could see twice the length of any human, and hear twice the distance of everyone, but the truth is that my strongest sense is smell. My nose seems to be able to pick up the slightest smells and intensify them. It's all fine and dandy when I smell popcorn, but skunks? Torture.

2. Do you believe in the idea of a 'sixth sense'? Why or why not?

  Oh, definitely. The reason why is simple really, I believe everybody has certain capabilities that they might not even be aware of but still possess.


3. When do you most feel like a slave to time? Explain.

  Everyday towards evening it's crunch time for me to get all of  my day's plans wrapped up. The answer to your question is every evening.

4. Have you ever worked in a restaurant? How would you rate the experience? If you could own a restaurant what kind would it be? 

  I have never worked in a restaurant (though I used to want to be a waitress when I was younger.) If I could own a restaurant it would be french. But not just your average filet mignon and souffles, no, I would have the quaintest delights from France gracing the tables at my restaurant.

5. Ever traced your family tree? Share something interesting you learned there.

  I have not ever traced my family tree but my Mom and Dad say my ancestors came from Germany and Switzerland.

6. What did your childhood bedroom look like?

  Ah! Boy I miss that room! It was a rather large bedroom compared to the room I have now. It had white walls,  a bunk bed Diane and I shared, and a spacious walk in closet. Along the line of decorations I don't think we had any. Did I care? Of course not. I was far more concerned about taking care of my little doll Katie Lynn than I was about how many knick-knacks adorned my bedroom wall.

7. Anyone who knows me knows I love_______________________?

  This is awful, how can I possibly choose only one thing for the allotted blank! LOTR, would be one thing, owls would be another, crochet is yet another, and the list could honestly go on for several more paragraphs before I'm done here.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

  I'm excited because last weekend my Grandma taught me how to crochet her famous bib and baby bootie set! Since arriving home from our visit I have filled my room with tons of yarn fuzz from the heaps of pom poms I have been making to add to the little booties. You know, I hadn't realized you could get callouses from making pom poms!

I Went on an Adventure

  For a while now we (as in my family) have been planning to go to a home school group where a lot of my friends go. Last Friday was the first day of this semester and I was unbelievably nervous upon arriving at our church where the group meets every week.
  Though quite a lot happened on my first day, I will only be sharing the highlights of my day with you. The highlights not as in only the best of the "good" moments but as in the best of the awkward moments as well.

#1. Upon first arriving, there was only one other family at church so I walked over to the girls from that family. The one girl (I will be calling her Christina) Christina, and I struck up a conversation and she pulled out her phone to show me the pictures of all the people that would be arriving momentarily. Upon seeing that she was confused at how I knew who so many of the people were I told her that my friends on facebook shared lots of  pictures of those people. Later on then, Christina introduced me to Zeke, who was one of her friends. This is how she introduced us, "Zeke this is Rose, and Rose meet Zeke." That was all peaches and cream but then with a big grin Christina turns to Zeke and further says, "Zeke you don't know Rose but she knows you because she stalks everybody on facebook." I was all like awkward grin and thanks a lot Christina.

#2. Christina and I were hanging out later on and just as I was opening my mouth to say something she decided to do a dramatic hair flip and after pulling out her hair from its position stuck in between my teeth I noticed that it tastes like dusty fruit.

#3. I was wearing a navy blue t-shirt with the words of "What's taters, precious?" printed across the front, so when everyone started arriving Giselle walked past me and she stopped short when she noticed my shirt and after a few seconds her eyes opened wide and she said "Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew." I'm supposing you can all guess that we struck up a conversation after that.

#4. There was an absolutely adorable little baby girl named Gabriella that I got to help babysit alongside Christina for an hour or two, that little human melted my heart.

#5. I don't know why but for some strange reason my poor curls were constantly being tugged at by random people. To the point where I threatened to hiss at whoever tugged my curls again. This statement made Christina laugh and so she purposely tugged my curls just to see me hiss.

#6. At chemistry class (a bunch of games based around the periodic table of elements) while seated at my table I looked down at the home printed game currency that was being distributed by a little boy and looked over at my recently acquired friend Sabrina and we suffered from anxiety attacks together from how lopsided the currency was cut out. OCD problems.

#7. While still at chemistry class Wade turns to Sabrina and I and asks if we can whistle with our hands ( he demonstrated a bird whistle by blowing into his hand in some technical method ) I laughed at the very idea of me being able to whistle and at his questioning look I tipped up my head and demonstrated my inability to whistle.

#8. At writing class we did improv and while Kat got to be a clock, Diane was a cherry (poor her), Callie was an alien, Sabrina screamed every time someone said "and", and Lacey was a braid obsessed maniac, I got to be a country girl. Have any of you ever heard my southern imitation? It's hysterical. 

  I'm sure that tonight I will have to sit up abruptly in bed and be like "Aw man, I could have written about this experience too" But since I can't think of what exactly "this " experience is I will just end this post with a hearty southern accented Goodbye.

To Cry or not to Cry

  I mentioned yesterday that I would talk some more about my experience while watching The Hobbit; Battle of the Five Armies. So here I am preparing to bare my heart to all of you.

  All of the Hobbit movies were so vividly acted out that it was impossible not to be taken on a journey right along side Bilbo, Thorin, and the rest of the company of fourteen. So naturally I grew to be very attached to all of the dwarves with their charmingly blunt ways of going about their adventure.

  My emotional ride all began when Bard the Bowman was reunited with his children after surviving the Dragon's fire. It was an obviously touching scene that served to soften me up, which I later discovered was just exactly what Peter Jackson (the director) wanted so that everyone was good and ready to shed a tear or two when Kili gives Tauriel his promise (the stone) to reunite with her.

  I thought that the single tear that I had shed over Kili and Tauriel's parting would be it for the movie, and especially thought so after Thorin became a maniacal, gold-obsessed king. But no, after ages of Thorin becoming more and more crazed to the point of actually threatening his own kindred, which caused them unbelievable grief, Peter Jackson wanted us to become even more emotionally distraught so he went and made Thorin come to his senses just when the company had had it and were about to desert Thorin even though he was their king. Naturally everyone was holding a sob in their throats when Thorin marched out onto the battle field alongside his friends, his brothers in spirit, to help them fight their battle. I had thought my world was okay then but no, just after Thorin came to his senses and became closer than he had ever been before to his companions, Azog  went and killed Fili, right in front of Kili at that. (They were very close brothers, young and always laughing together as it was their way of making it through all of the darkness.) It was at that moment that I knew Peter Jackson and the world in general was very, very cruel. How could you possibly dare to break a bond so pure as brother's?!

  It took me only seconds to fill with a venomous hatred for Azog, how dare he be so unbelievably evil and feel no remorse? It was astoundingly awful. Once again I was blind to Peter Jackson's plot. I had just felt love, kindness, sorrow, and hatred. But was Peter Jackson done? No, once again, of course not.

  Bolg (brother of Azog) went and attacked Tauriel, Kili, upon hearing Tauriels cries rushed to her aid caring only for her safety, his love towards her was so great. Absolutely nothing I had ever experienced before in my existence even came close to the horrible, soul paining anguish I felt when Bolg turned around and killed Kili, right then and there, in front of Tauriel. Tears were streaming out my face and I almost choked with sadness when Kili, the whole time that he was dying, gazed steadily at Tauriel with nothing but complete, pure love in his eyes, all the while she was sobbing but never broke her gaze from his eyes either.

  After that I felt empty, there was nothing left in me to stop the tears from  rolling down my face. Kili was never supposed to die, he was supposed to live happily ever after with Tauriel, his love for her was supposed to protect him from harm, but it didn't. It defied everything that was right in this world having him die right then and there. And it served only to prove to everyone that happy endings are only real to the person who hasn't lived.

  He had previously dragged us all through various heart wrenching scenes of sadness and then a monster of some sort was just about to kill Thorin when Legolas (an elf, not as in a short and wart covered little man with pointed shoes, but a tall man with long blonde hair and blue eyes) turned around and killed the monster by throwing his sword into it. (It was quixotic feat in real life, but elves are extremely impeccable marksmen, and everything else really.) Thorin stood on trembling legs and drew the sword from the monster and spent a moment looking at it - he had previously held an irrational hatred towards elvish crafted swords- but there he was, standing brave and turned to fight Azog himself. My realization at Thorin's acceptance of elves caused a wobbly smile to show through all of my tears that were still pouring out from previous traumas.

  To see Thorin die then by Azog's doing left me completely exhausted and gave me a frightful headache. After that movie ended my life didn't feel the same, I didn't feel the same. My views on about pretty much everything had changed and my surroundings seemed so fickle, so superficial, it couldn't be explained. But all of it, all of the horror that I had just endured was to blame on Peter Jackson. He was/is to blame for my hollowness!

...    ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...  ...   ...

Disclaimer: Even though I suffered emotional trauma, I'm sure I will watch it again, because I really love the entire Hobbit/LOTR series.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What would you say is the best and worst thing about moving house?

  I think everyone will agree with me that the worst thing about moving is packing. The very thought of having to pack or unpack makes me want to shudder. My favorite part of moving is literally to be done with moving.

2. What's moved you recently?

  Sighs, absolutely everyone of my followers probably knows that I love LOTR, (goodness knows I yap about it enough) but oddly enough, I had never watched "Battle of the Five Armies" before. That is until last Sunday. It was an awful experience really, but I'll wait to give you my story about it until tomorrow.

3. Do you feel your life is moving forward, backward, or is on hold? How so?

  Oh it is very easy to say that I feel my life is moving forward, it almost feels as if it is just beginning to get started really.

4. On the move, move mountains, get a move on, it's your move, or bust a move...which phrase best applies to some aspect of your life right now? Explain.

  "Get a move on." I have been wanting to do several craft diys, bake several new recipes, and write several stories but I just wasn't getting it done. However, I realized that it is just about time to get a move on it if I want those things done before I say goodbye to life. (I'm not about to die soon, I was just giving you an idea of how much of a procrastinator I am.)

5. What song makes you want to get up and move?

  The title of this song is pretty much obvious enough "Make a Move" by Royal Tailor. It is definitely on the upbeat side and has been listened to by Diane and I frequently while we clean up supper dishes.

6. Your favorite snack to grab when you're 'on the move'?

I love to grab a granola bar when I'm  on the move. We make homemade granola bars that are quite tasty. My second choice would be carrots.

7. What one accessory makes your house feel like home?

  The one accessory that makes my house feel like home? I don't think there is one. Being surrounded by my family always make me feel as if I were at home, even if I'm not. So no, I do not have one accessory that makes this house of mine feel like home, I have my family.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

  A few days ago Diane and I made our own Walnut ink, it was quite the interesting experience, one that served to stain our fingernails and make our clothes smell like rancid smoke. On the bright side, I now have almost a pint of ink to use for calligraphy!

For the Love of Books

  Books, books, glorious books! Though I love settling down to watch a good movie nothing comes close to replacing to a good book. A truly wonderful book captivates me and is the subject of my daydreams. Fortunately my parents are both book lovers and we have a huge home library. I have read quite a bunch of captivating books and believe that my writing style - which you get to experience every time that I make a post - is due largely to the books that I have read.

  Today I will be putting my own spin on the usual Wednesday Hodgepodge since it doesn't exist this week. Today I will be answering book related questions. Without further ado....

#1 Would you rather read only trilogies or stand-alones? 

I love both of them equally. Sometimes I wish there were more books to whatever I'm reading and then other times I wish that there was only one book in the series that I'm reading.

#2 Would you rather read only male or female authors?

  I do not prefer one over the other. I was prepared to say I prefer female authors until I realized I loved all of the books by Louis L'Amour, and the books by J.R.R Tolkien. So yes, I stand firm when I say I do not prefer one over the other.

#3 Would you rather shop at Barnes and Noble or Amazon?

   I would definitely prefer to shop at Barnes and Noble. Actually getting to see, smell, and touch the books in front of me is a priceless thing and can't be replaced for me by an online store.

#4 Would you rather have books become T.V. shows or movies?

  I would rather have books turn into movies that way you have the whole deal right in front of you instead of fretting "when will the next episode play?"


#5 Would you rather read five pages a day or five books a week?

   Now this is an easy question. Obviously I would rather read five books a week!

#6 Would you rather be a professional reviewer or an author?

   If I was a professional reviewer I would be sent free books to review; if I was a professional author I would get paid enough to buy my own books.... Yep, I would rather be a professional author.
And sorry by the way, that you had to experience my thought process.

#7 Would you rather read your top twenty favorite books over and over again, or always read new ones you've never read before?

  I would rather always read new books that I never read before. Even though I have favorites I enjoy rereading, it would be sad to devote my reading time to only twenty books.

#8 Would you rather be a librarian or a bookseller?

   I would much rather be a librarian. Being surrounded by books all day. Helping others find that perfect book to read. 

   Confession time .... I think it would be so much fun walking around with my nose turned up, busily tut-tutting at noisy people. And perhaps I would start a "Stop Abusing Books" program, telling people dog ears are for dogs, not books.

#9 Would you rather read only your favorite genre(s) or anything but your favorite?

   Is this question even real?! Why in the world would I want to only read my least favorite genres? This question is so infuriatingly obvious I'm just going to stubbornly turn up my nose and walk away.

#10 Would you rather read only physical books or e-books?

  I don't think anything will ever replace real physical books for me. I love everything about real books. From smelling the pages, to crying onto them, to stuffing them into a freezer for a while because they are just too scary for me and I need a little time to prepare myself to continue reading.

Portrait Art

  I have a few possessions that mean a lot to me; one of those possessions is my old tattered art book that I received when I was about twelve. I dug that book out of a stack of random objects this morning and almost felt like crying just looking at it. The poor thing is now so tattered and it won't be long before my pages of art start falling out. The cover is loose and ripped in various places and the binding is twisted and banged up.

  I very hurriedly started making plans to slip all of those pictures in protective sleeves once they fall out. It simply won't do to let my hours of time and effort go to waste. I was relieved when my dear mumsy went about scanning my favorite pictures for me and printing out copies of the others.
Now I don't feel quite as heartsick whenever I look at my art book.

  I was cheered up a little though to see the progress I made in my art over the past year or so and now I am inspired to bettering my art some more because I am still not anywhere near as good at drawing as I would like to be.

  Here are two of my favorite drawings.