Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Blog ALL the things!

Alright.

I feel like I should apologize.

I feel like I should have some really good reasons why I haven't been blogging.

I feel like I'm falling down on the blogging job.

 But then I tell myself. "Hey! This is my blog. I'm suppose to have freedom with it...er, right?"

So I wont apologize.

*Cough, cough, 'sorry,' cough*

So, I'm doing a slam-dunk post, where I sneak in all the little things I didn't post about during July...and a little bit of June. Prepare yourselves. 


Starting with June.

Back at the beginning of June, my sisters and I headed out to the 'range.' I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but we know this fellow that's an ex-Marine (Ooo-rah!) among other things, and he taught us the whole 'gun' safety' course/thing and then took us out for some practical application. With 45mm glocks.

Loading a gun is fun.

Firing a gun is fun. *Pow, pow!*

Let's not even talk about how rubbish my stance is in this picture. :)
First time, remember?

"Did I hit it?"

We had a really good time and I need to work out some way to get out and practice shooting again. Glocks are pretty awesome. And big. And incredibly powerful.

And so much fun to fire! *Grins demonically*

Now, if only I could shoot what I'm aiming at! My aiming isn't great. But my teacher told me I have really good grouping! *Yay!*

So if I aim for your heart, I'd probably miss it. But I might get you in the thigh four or five times in close proximity. 

*Sigh* It was pretty epic. 


My garden is still there. Mostly. 

The cucumber and lettuce never made it. And my tomato plans are still tiny.

But the Peas and Squash are doing well! *Pats self on back*

"Oh, Peas. I love you so much!"

Will I try gardening again next year? Maybe. But probably not from seed. The seasons just aren't long enough or warm and moist enough for plants to take off. I think my garden would have been much happier if I had just bought baby plants in the first place.
But it's been fun and I sort of love my little plants. Have I mentioned that I read to them? And sing to them? ....Creepy much?


I managed to do a very successful sewing project. But I think I might save that whole story for Saturday. :) Here's a sneak peak at it.
Isn't it awesome? *Snerk*

I am learning a little bit more about doing floral arrangements at my job. It's been fun. I really love that part of the job.


Then there is the picnic of awesomeness. It was the Sunday before last and the weather was stifling. So I suggested going to one of the smaller lakes in the area and having a picnic. I'm very good at getting people to do what I want.
I know how to use a Glock, remember? *Snicker*

This one lake is perfect for that because it's off the beaten trail so you don't have loads of people out tanning. That's always nice. I'm not a big fan of the human BBQ pits. (You will never un-hear that.)

It was cool, and refreshing, and pretty much perfect out there. 
We did a lot of swimming.

"Er...No, Treskie. You were suppose to Jump."

And we played on this floating log for ages. 





We had a lovely picnic dinner and just relaxed for hours. 





 
"Come on, girl! You can make it!"
                 

And then we went home.
Aren't car shots the best? They're so flattering.*Grin*

And Last but not Least--

My Uncle, who happens to be a priest, is up visiting right now, which means that we get to enjoy morning Mass everyday in our home. All you other Catholics out there, be jealous! lol. 

It's really awesome, you guys!

Do any of you have things you just do every summer? 
My family goes swimming a lot. We like to go out in the evenings, around 5 or 6 and swim for about an hour. It's a really nice way to end the day, there aren't many people left on the beach, and the water is the best at that time. It's one of the best things about summer for us.

I hope you all are having a great summer too. It's already almost August, so know's the time to cram in all the things you want to do this summer! Hurry, hurry, hurry! 

Okay. My eyes are seriously beginning to glaze over. And I'm drooling a little.  I should probably go.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone. 

God Bless!
Amy




Tuesday, July 23, 2013

That moment when you realize you have no idea what to post about...


I'm sorry. I haven't really had time to work on any of the posts that I really want to do, so you're all going to be stuck with this random update thing that I'm settling on instead.

Okay, I lied.

It's not even an update. It's just going to be random.

But you're still stuck here.

Don't believe me?

I bet you just realize you can't leave my site. You must keep reading. *Mrhrhrhrhrhr*


Anyway, it's not so much that I can't think of something to post about, because I have quite a few posts that are waiting patiently to be written. It's more that I am busy and don't have as much time as I need to write them.

But I miss my little blog and had  to pop on to say hello to all of you! *Waves*



And that's basically it.


On top of normal business, I have some other hobby/ambitions that I've been working on lately, but so far I keep hitting a wall. A brick wall. With razor wire on top.  It's very frustrating.


(We all have days where we feel like this.)

Well, that's that. 


Thank you for sticking around to the end of the post. *Grin*

Cheers! And God Bless~
Amy

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Lark


I have been wanting to do a book review of Lark pretty much since I started my blog, but I could never find the 'right time' to do it. This book is so dear to my heart I'm a little afraid that I will never be able to do it justice. But then, if I don't do a review, some of you might never hear about this lovely story.

I am a big fan of historical fiction. I freakin' love historical fiction. That being said, it is extremely difficult to find good, accurate historical fiction. I am very picky about which ones I will read. It's got to be right. I can't stand it when the female characters are all feminist back in the 1500 and 1600's. That is not right.

Lark is at the very top of my historical fiction list.  It is right. *Nods*

So here I go.

"Lark blinked. She had never been particularly conscious of having originality and independence of mind, but now it had been brought to her attention,she saw quite clearly that it was so. The discovery pleased her."

Elizabeth Lennox, known as Lark, is miserably unhappy.

It is the year 1651 and Bonnie Prince Charlie is trying to take back his throne from Cromwell. All of Britain is up in arms and Lark's family, all staunch supporters of the Prince, have been exiled to France. But she was kidnapped by her Uncle Jeremiah, for her own safety of course, and is stuck living with all her Puritan cousins in England.
It is her Uncle Jeremiah's firm believe that she is meant to become a Puritan and marry his son, Will-of-God.

"'Look down upon Elizabeth, Oh Lord,' he commanded. Lark stiffened slightly. "Though knowest how I have tried to lead her from the ungodliness of her early training. Chasten her stubborn and rebellious spirit, and bring her in repentance to Thy feet so that she may become worthy to receive the name Submit."

It's been close to two years that Lark has been stuck living with her Aunt and Uncle, and when she finds out from an unlikely source that her sister, who married a Scott several years ago, is safe and still living in Scotland, Lark decides that she will run away to Scotland.

Something that's very useful to Lark is, even though she is thirteen, she is small and manages to look and act about ten. She uses this to her advantage. No one expects anything cunning from such a sweet, innocent looking little thing.

Enter James:
James is a messenger for Charles the second. He has a very important and dangerous job, traveling through England, and it's just bad luck that brought him to the clearing where Lark had gotten herself in trouble with a rather hulking Puritan boy only two days after her Great Escape.

"She was looking in alarm at a thick-set young man, also in Puritan dress, who advanced toward her angrily. Her brother, no doubt, and none of James's business  But an instant later he made it his business  For the young man gave the little girl a clout on the ear that knocked her to the ground, and James saw red."

One thing leads to another and James finds himself stuck with this 'little girl'. He knows she's a run-away but she refuses to tell James her real name. He doesn't have time to turn back and figure out where she belongs, and he can't just leave her all alone! Such a lovely little person like her...
So they set off together, James not knowing Lark's real name, and Lark not knowing James's. After all, it's safer for Lark if she doesn't know who he is.

'"But you'll have to go home--I mean back to your Uncle-- sooner or later," He explained kindly. "After all, where else can you go?"
"To Scotland," Lark told him as casually as if she had said, "across the road."
"Awp!" said James inadequately, and then became speechless."'

 This story has a little bit of everything. There are plenty of adventure, from Gypsies to escapes, to fights and a little bit of espionage-ish stuff. There is really good character development and the ending is so satisfying. *Sigh* Oh, and did I mention a tiny smidgen of romance?

The bit with the Gypsies is one of my favorite bits. Lark finally realizes that looking young has it's drawbacks. And one of the gypsy girls is very beautiful.

'"She gave Lark a sideways look. "He is very beautiful, this young man you travel with. Is he yours? If you don't even know his name, you can't know him very well. I think I like him."'

One of the things that I really love is how Lark's faith in God changes and grows. She was so young when she was separated from her family, and her Uncle teaches her such different things about God then her family did, that Lark is confused and thinks that God doesn't like her very much. As the story goes along, something happens and Lark has to put her trust in God. It's a subtle, but I loved that side of things.

James is like the perfect hero. He's awesome and might have been my first fictional crush. I would very much have loved to have an adventure with him. But those sorts of things don't happen to me. Maybe because I don't run away and do brave things.

The author handles the whole James-Lark situation really well. Nothing ever feels inappropriate or 'off' with them traveling across England alone. Jame is convinced Lark is very young and it takes the whole story for him to realize that she isn't quite as young as he thought. For the most part, they feel like brother and sisters, with a very gently shift to 'something more'. I love it.

"Lark dropped her chin and made a mental note of James's last name. It was nice. Trelawney. Lark Trelawney would sound well, too."

The dialogue is brilliant. It makes the book so easy to read and the characters are so realistic. I am one of those people that likes my stories character driven and this book totally is.

I have recommended this book to everyone I know. And no one has not loved it. :) Seriously, you should just go read it.

When I was younger, my family insisted that I acted a lot like Lark and I took this as a compliment. I wanted to be like her. She was so brave and plucky.
I am not as brave as she is, but sometimes the way her mind works remind me of myself. She feels logical and wonders why people don't just do things her way. I relate to her a lot. *Snicker*

Now.

And if you can't find it, just buy it! (You know you want to! *Grin*) I doubt you'd regret the purchase. GO HERE!

Alright. I should probably  stop gushing now. You're all like, "Oh, please..."

But honestly. If you can get your hands on Lark read it. And let me know how you like it. We can fangirl together. Seriously.

God Bless!
Amy



Thursday, July 11, 2013

Letter Eight

"Wow, these girls are doing so well with this letter game thing," ....said no one ever. lol.

Well, what can I say. We are not the best about about writing letters. *Sigh* We do try! Really!

Most of the time.

Anyway, since Treskie and I enjoy writing these letters we are going to plow doggedly on, whether any of you still care or not.

This letter is a good one. I am intrigued by it and am working on an appropriate response. It's not proving easy. As Treskie put it, we went along, writing away blissfully..."Lalalala!" and then "Boom!" Literally. And suddenly things are a little dark. Thanks Treskie. Now I need to up my game too. *Wink.* When a story starts to drag, blow something up. *Nods*

For any of you that are new...or just totally confused and want to re-read the letters, they are all under "Letter Game" on my page listing. Got it? Good.

At any rate...enjoy! 


From: Miss Joan McTavish
To: Miss Peggy Douglas
December 23, 1924


Dear Peggy:

I am writing to tell you I'm alright. Don't worry. I'm alright.

I'm sure you've heard about the explosion at the palace by now, and I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner.

Prince George is safe. Or as safe as he can be under the circumstances.

Here. Let me start from the beginning.

Last week, as you probably know, there was a massive set of explosions at the palace. It was around the middle of the night, and I was technically off duty. I was jerked out of my sleep by the first bomb going off at the East Gate. So, off duty or no, I strapped on my set of knives, grabbed my revolver, and took off to the the Prince's bed chambers. When I got there, I saw four of the other members of his security detail crowded around the door. Sir Dominic was slamming his shoulder into the slab of oak, yelling both the Prince's name and the name of the security member in the room with him.
I hurried up to the boys in the hall and said, "What's going on?"
"There's been an attack," John, (a very nice fellow that I rather liked.) "Prince's George's door is locked from the inside and there is no answer. We can't get in."
I nodded. For a few more moments, we waited while Dominic continued in his attempt to knock down the door, and then another explosion rocked the palace. This one was much, much closer. Even with my training to keep my balance no matter what happens, I was knocked off my feet by the force of it. The end of the hallway burst into flames. And just when I thought it couldn't get worse, two black clad men emerged from the smoke, wielding a type of machine gun I'd never seen before. They loosed a torrent of bullets into us. Without thinking, I said the incantation for a shield spell. I threw it up around myself and the person closest to me. (because, as you know, even though those bloody shield protect against almost everything, they are only powerful enough to protect two people.) Dominic and I crouched together behind the shield, watching helplessly as the assassins' weapons took out the rest of the security team. Dominic reached for his revolver, shifted position slightly, and two bullets later the assassins were down.
Our problem wasn't over though, the fire was still roaring it's way down the corridor. For a moment, I dropped my shield and ran to check on the other members of the security team. They were all dead. My mind went numb, Peggy. All that training, all those theoretical lessons at Uni never prepared me for the real thing. So I stood there like a halfwit until Dominic shook my shoulder hard, "Can your shield protect against flame, Joan?"
"I don't know."
"Well pray that it does, because we won't make it out of here if it doesn't." he gestured and I saw that somehow there was now fire at both ends of the corridor, working its way to us. I said something I'm ashamed of and muttered, "I can try."
"Good girl." he said, and then he raced toward the fallen assassins. When he came back, he carried their machine guns. "Here." he said, "I have an idea. Aim at where the bolt would be. We need to see if the prince is alright." (highly unlikely, under the circumstances. )
Guns are all fairly similar, so it didn't take a minute for me to work out how this one functioned. I'm not sure what size caliber they used, but the bullets peppered the impenetrable oak door and splintered it as though it were made out of pine. Even so, there wasn't enough time to break down the door before the fire was upon us. Even from a distance, the heat was like a solid force, and up close, it was unbearable. So I let my gun drop, and threw up the strongest shield I could muster. It didn't help much. Dominic stood beside me, continuing the attack on the door. The twin fires surged toward us, vying for the last of the air and wood to burn. Dominic dropped his weapon and took a running leap at the door. He hit it feet first and this time, it buckled. Together we bolted in and found the Prince limp on the ground while the guard who'd been posted in the room grappled with another black-clad assassin. Without thinking, I drew one of my knives and threw it at the enemy. Thank goodness I've practiced with those so much, because the assassin fell instantly. Dominic checked the Prince for life and I yelled at Simon, the other guard, to help me move the mattress, because the only way I could see to get out of that room alive was to go out the window, which was two stories up. Together we maneuvered the mattress across the window ledge and let it fall below. Dominic and Simon picked up the Royal Dead Weight and leaped out. I followed. Seconds later, the entire second floor erupted into flames, spewing fiery debris over our heads.
We looked on in horror as the realization of what had happened set in. Finally, Simon said, "Where to now, Dom?"
We deliberated briefly about what to do and where to go. Dominic had just become the senior member of P. George's security team, and he looked completely at loss.
I said, "My parents live not two miles from here." so we went there. It was a rough journey, Simon had twisted his ankle in the fall from the window, and Prince George refused to wake up, to it was up to Dominic and I to see that we weren't followed. Twice we ran into assassins. It's a miracle we made it to my parents' house alive.

So that's where we are now. Mum and Father took over everything instantly. I must say it's a good thing Mum was a nurse before she got married. I think we would have lost the Prince otherwise, seeing as he'd sustained a severe bullet wound to the chest and a massive bump on the head because we fairly threw him out his bedroom window. Mum put him in an Enchanted Healing Coma. She says he'll come out of it when his body is ready.

Until then, it seems, our country is leaderless. The King and Queen were killed in the attack. Almost everyone in the palace was. I swear it was luck that got us out. There is a search out on P. George, it seems someone found the mattress under his window and put the pieces together.

I'm irritated at myself for not being in more control of the situation. All those years at Uni, and I still acted absurdly like a civilian when I should have been professional and well trained. Father says not to be too hard on myself, because it was my first time in a honest to goodness, dangerous situation. I still fill a bloody idiot.

As such, I have put a spell on this letter so that only you may read it. (it will sense your fingerprints) If it is intercepted, it will appear that we are just silly girls panicking over the attack and simpering over some boy. It was the best I could do under the circumstances. I've enclosed the instructions for the spell so that you may perform it, should you decide to reply.

I hope our beloved Royal Dead Weight comes out of his coma soon. The King's relatives are clamoring for his position. And the magicians and philosophers are being complete fools about the matter.

Don't tell anyone where I am, m'dear. Not even the Detective.
Your worried:
Joan.

Monday, July 8, 2013

My forth of July~

Hey there! How is everyone doing? I had a wonderful five day weekend (yes, that is possible) and am finally getting around to some blogging.

I really enjoy the 4th of July. I like the BBQing and the games and the whole patriotic thing. The American Revolution is one of my favorite parts of American history and I've done research on it here and there ever since 10th grade when I decided to write a book about a spy in that time-frame. That book is still not done (And I sometimes wonder if it ever shall be!) but I have a definate fondness for the 1700's. *Ehem*....Anyway.

I felt more WWII in my choice of clothing though. I think it was the Captain America earrings that did it. I planned my whole outfit out around them. *Grin* They are my favorite earrings for the now. What can I say? They are cool.


We spent the majority of the day reading in the shade. That's how we party. I'm not sure what that says about us. We read in companionable silence. ;)
We talked and lounged. Quite honestly, it was rather too hot to do any real moving. So lounging it was. 

Once things cooled down we played some random games. There was a bit of badminton.
But then we destroyed the only birdie we had and we moved on to other things. 

Like football.
(Which I am rubbish at.:)

And other games that we didn't take pictures of. 

Drank water from the hose. 
(It's delicious!)

Oh, don't mind me. I'm just air guitaring--well I guess it's more air banjo, really.
Doing my best impersonation of this:

                 
It's only 28 seconds long. Watch it. Seriously.

Then there are the watermelon pictures. So...They are hilarious. *Nods* Let's just hope my family doesn't kill me for showing y'all. But they are too funny not to show!






Things really got fun that night when the sun started going down and we started a fire, drank coffee, made s'mores, told stories and at the end of the night, sang the national anthem. 


Oh look! Stars!

If you wanna see more of the pictures, Treskie  did a really good post. So go check it out!
That's all I've got. It was just a really fun day.

Cheers!

God Bless
Amy