In which I do the Liebster Blog Award...Again

Hello, everyone!

"The Liebster blog award," she muttered darkly. "The re-occurring award to make you delve deep into your memories and emotions so as to let the world know who you really are!"

................Oh wait. 

This one doesn't do that!

Can I hear a Hallelujah? 

Do I hear an Amen?

Per usualy, there are rules. But you know what?

So there.

Here are the rules, if I were going to follow them.

1.)Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you. (Okay, fine. That was Treskie)

2.)Answer the eleven question that the blogger gives you (Yes, I will do that)

3.)Give eleven random facts about yourself (Oh look, it does ask for some serious soul-searching. And no. I will not)

4.)Nominate eleven other bloggers and let them know (That's presuming I actually know eleven other bloggers. I may follow more than eleven, but I only comment on, like...four? Maybe six. And odds are good they've already been nominated. So...)

5.)Make eleven questions for them to answer (This one sounds fun so why the heck not?)

Now that I have that out of the way, let's get down to business. But no, I shall not be defeating any Huns in this post. So stay calm and put down the staff. 

1.) Will you join me in my quest to destroy all the things?

2.) Wizards or witches?

Source

Gandalf looks quite shocked that you'd even ask such a question.

Though I'm not sure if this question just means my preference, in which case, see above. Or if it means what I relate to more. Also see above. 

Though there was a little 4'10", ginger haired witch in a book called "Dealing with Dragons" that I quite related to. She was awesome. Enough said. 

3.) Are sweet dreams made of these or are you one to disagree?

"I didn't know you couldn't sing." (Kudos if you get that reference.)

4.) Have you ever heard of Ninjago? (Apparently it's lego. I have yet to see it.)

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5.) Do you collect sporks?

I detest sporks. 

6.) What were your favorite toys as a kid? 

I am trying really hard to resist the urge to launch myself into a eulogy about my favorite toy. It's a tragic story. 

Suffice it to say, I had a fabulous cloth doll made for me by my Mummy. We were bffs. I'm not even exaggerating a little.  

Then, after years of love and happiness, she disappeared off the face of the planet, never to be seen again. 

It was a dark time for me. 

7.) If you had a choice, would you hang out with Frodo or Merry?

I am sorry to say I think I'm more in the same class as Merry. Don't get me wrong, Frodo is the bomb-diggety, but Merry seems to keep a constant supply of apples. And he steals fireworks. And raids the food storage place at Isengard. Yet he still manages to find time to be brave. I aspire to be like Merry. 

Source

8.) In your opinion are ticks worse than spiders? 

Oh let me think. One lurks in the shadows, makes webs, and crawls unexpectedly out of my drain, and one sneaks up on me, latches onto my skin, drinks my blood,  and swells up to grotesque proportions.

I'm gonna have to go with tick. 

Ticks are evil.

Bad, bad ticks. 

9.) Sherlock meets Shawn Spencer, what is the first thing he would deduct?

"You are immature, brash and have an unhealthy desire for attention. You do not own your own home, or even your own car. You're terrified of commitment, have very little regard for authority, and hide your emotions with rather poor attempts at humor. I'd say you're an idiot, but since you've manage to hold down a job as a Psych Detective, I'd have to go with the opinion that it's the general, gullible public that are idiots and you are a simply a gifted lair."

I have no idea how he deducted all that, but I'm tired and that spiel came gushing forth and so it will remain. 

10.) Can you list the fifty states? 

*Inhales deep breath and begins to sing* Alabama, and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, and more. Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana Iowa, only 36 more to go! Next New Hampshire and New Jersey, now way down Mexico, there's New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, now let's see, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee. Texas and there's Utah, Vermont, I'm almost through! Virginia and there's Washington and West Virginia, too! Could Wisconsin be the last state or is it 49? No, Wyoming is the last state of the fifty states that rhyme. 

You asked. 

11.) What is your opinion on blue inked pens? Yea or nay?

Being master and commander of this ship, I hereby nominate:

Mahri

Mary

Chelsea

Your Challenge, should you choose to except it,is as follows.

1.) How do you feel about pool noodles?

2.) Forest or Ocean?

3.) On a scale of 1-10, how adorable do you think Camels are?

4.) Would you ride a camel? Keeping in mind that they spit.

5.) Batman or Captain America?(Don't worry, I don't judge... Okay, I do, but I'll be kind.)

6.) Bananas or Pineapples?

7.) How well can you chop an onion?

8.) Given a choice between jogging 5 miles or doing boxing for 20 minutes, what would you do?

9.) What was your favorite picture book as a very young child. 

10.) On a scale of 1-10, just how good are your reflexes?

11.) Are you a morning person or should others be afraid for their lives if they bother you before you've had your coffee?

I'm looking forward to see all y'all answers! 

Farewell, my friends! 

Goodnight and God bless!

Amy

Lifey stuff

I hate it when I feel inspired to write a blog post and I'm all excited and feeling very creative and clever, only to open my laptop and have all my inspiration roar away laughing in a fast car.

But whatever. Who needs inspiration?

"Full fathoms five thy father lies.
I pushed him. I apologize."
........................

"Water, water everywhere.
The plumbing badly needs repair."

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

"I bring fresh showers for thirsty flowers.
I've stood in the sun, with a hose, for hours."

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

*Sighs sadly*

Here. Pictures.

There was a lovely day last week where I got off early (Amazing!) and decided not to waste my afternoon inside, so I picked up Treskie and we got coffee and sat by the water. It was gorgeous and fun and relaxing. 

You want a little peek at how I spent most of my day off yesterday? 

BOOM! 

I'm proud to say, I think I'm getting the hang of my little studio set-up. 

I've been having some issues with play-back stuff and it's been driving my crazy.

You know what you do when you're ready to throw a microphone at your computer?

You take a break and apply a wet-and-stick tattoo. Avengers, obviously. 

And amazingly enough, I figured out the problem after that. So now it's my 'lucky tattoo' and I'm going to be sad to wash it off.

Speaking of Avengers.....

I don't know how many of you are into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, but I just watched the first two episodes of season two. Can I just say....

Fitz! Fiiiiiiitzt!!! Fitz? 

Source

What the heck?

Source

Why must TV Shows be so nasty to the viewers? 

But episode three is on IMDB today. So you can take a mad stab in the dark as to how I'm spending my evening. 

Here's what I'm currently reading/attempting to read/skimming through.

The Centurion is a really good book which I would recommend wholeheartedly. I'm not quite through with it yet, but I'm fairly certain it's going to make me weep like a little baby.

It Can Be Done. I want to start reading a bit of poetry. I don't know why. Just a whim, I guess. But this seemed like a good place to start.

And  Boxing's Ten Commandments.

.......Enough said.

Cheers, and catch you all later. I have to skedaddle off to work now. 

God Bless!

Amy

A few random things.

It's pretty grey and rainy out side right now. I am enjoying it quite a lot. Thunder and lightning...puddles and wind! *Sigh* Perfect weather for listening to music and doing crafts. Or settling down with a good book and some cocoa. Or perhaps just blast the Phantom of the Opera, sing at the top of my lungs and bake some cookies.

Except, I happen to have this really bothersome cold and my voice is struggling a big right now. I think it must be breaking up, (At least I hope it's breaking up!) because I've been sneezing and blowing my nose so much today...
I rather fancy that singing in this condition wouldn't be the best thing for my poor, strained vocal cords.

I guess I'll just listen to Josh Groban instead.

I just finished reading Perfect Scoundrels and I really enjoyed it. Ally Carter is a very good author and her books are such fun. I can'd decide what series I like better, the Heist Society books or the Gallagher Girls books.  I might lean ever so slightly toward the Gallagher Girl series. The later ones, that is. The first books the main character is really young and the stories are a bit more lighthearted. The later ones are gooood. :)

Last night I was going through some of my documents and started reading some of the things I've written...and for the first time,I didn't hate all of it! *Cackles gleefully!* There was on fight scene in particular that I hated after I wrote it. I didn't seem to flow the way I wanted it two and it almost felt too long. But last night, it was pretty cool! I was like, "I wrote this? Hmmm. Not too shabby."
I think I need to start working on my stories again. I have two stories in particular that are very dear to me and I would like to finish them at some point during my life. :) I don't really consider myself a writer. It's just a 'sometimes' hobby. *Shrug*

And speaking of writing...Letter Game. *Head-desk* I don't know why I keep forgetting so completely about the stupid letter game! It's terrible. So now that's back on my to-do list.

Now I think I'll slip away to my little kitchen and do some baking.

Don't forget that Friday is the last day you can enter the Disney giveaway. All you need to do is a quick post on anything Disney cartoon related and leave a comment on my blog. :)

God Bless!
Amy

Saturday Again

Well...this week just sort of took off and left me in the dust!

I was called into work on Monday and asked to cover for the tech that was on vacation, as the girl that was going to cover got sick. Er...that sounds all confusing. Let me try again. I work at an eye doctor's office. The technician is the person that calls your name while you're in the waiting room, gets you into a room and does a few of the 'set-up' tests for the doctor. And yours truly got to cover that job this last week. It's a super busy job and I've only helped out with it once before so there was a little bit of stress involved for me. :)

But hey-ho. It made for a really fast week.

It also sort of stole my free-time. I swear I was going to write the next letter for the Letter Game but that never panned out. But soon...soon! (But don't hold your breath.:) 

I was able to finish The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia since the last time I wrote. I think The Queen of Attolia might have been my favorite, but there were some absolutely brilliant parts in The King of Attolia too. In fact, the ending of The King of Attolia was probably the best part in any of the books.  I'm thinking about doing some book reviews one them. They were SO GOOD! I think they had some of the best character development that I have ever read, actually.


Today I'm just kicking back and enjoying the beautiful weather, doing a little reading, writing and singing...and painting my nails red since I never got around to that last weekend. *Grin*

Oh,oh, oh! I also broke down and bought myself some Captain America shield earrings!

They make me very happy.

And totally put me in a Captain America mood! 

I must watch this movie again. 

And this one.

Now I'm going to go put some chicken in the oven, make some bruschetta and finish sweeping my floor. 

Thank God for weekends! 

Cheers~

Amy

Book Review

I just finished reading The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner and it was so good I decided to do a book review.

It's been a while since I've found a book this well written and enjoyable. I've had a run of somewhat sub-par books and was beginning to get a bit depressed about it. There's nothing as sad as bringing home a stack of books, and not being satisfied with a single one of them!

Seriously depressing.

My sister happens to own The Thief and she kindly loaned it to me. We take reading very seriously,  you know, and when someone loans another their book...well, it is a very kind thing. :)

Right, here we go.


Gen is a thief. 

A rather proud, rather arrogant thief.

And it just so happens that he got caught stealing the King's Seal and is currently languishing in prison. That's what happens when you steal something and brag about it at the local wine shop.

“That prison," I said with heartfelt sincerity, "Was absolutely the most awful thing that has happened to me in my entire life." I could tell by the way he looked at me that he thought my life had been filled with one awful thing after another.”

Then Magus, the King's Scholar, suggests putting a use to the thief and test Gen's boast, "I can steal anything," (I said he was a bit arrogant, didn't I?)

“I want you to steal something."
I smiled. "Do you want the king's seal? I can get it for you."
"If I were you," said the magus, "I'd stop bragging about that." His voice grated.
My smile grew. The gold ring with the engraved ruby had been in his safekeeping when I had stolen it away.”

Gen has to travel to a neighboring kingdom and steal something called Hamaithes Gift. It is a precious stone and was traditionally used to show ruler-ship.

So, Gen and the Magus set out, along with two apprentices and a soldier/guard.

“All I wanted to do was lie in the dry grass with my feet in a ditch forever. I could be a convenient sort of milemarker, I thought. Get to the thief and you know you're halfway to Methana.”

Being, as he was, in prison for a couple months, Gen is rather out of shape, dirty and slightly ill. Instead of playing up that angle, though, he is just plain cranky and rude. He insults his fellow travelers every chance he gets, complains non-stop and must always have the last word.

“No friend had I made there, but I wasn't with this group to make friends, and besides, he sneered too much. I've found that people who sneer are almost always sneering at me.”

Despite how much of a stinker Gen is, you honestly can't help but like him. You want to give him a good shake at certain times, but he is undeniably charming. And there is just something about him that you can't quite put your finger on...

“A thief never makes a noise by accident.”

As the story unfolds and things become more serious, all the characters show what they're made off. There are some really surprising twists and turns in the plot that I never saw coming and that really added to the story's strength. 

Friendships are made.

There is betrayal.

I grew to love Gen. He is darn right cool. Plus, he's a little guy and I always like that. ;) 

“Being six feet off the ground does give one a sense of superiority.” 

I don't think you could really call him a hero, he's too rotten for that. But he is courageous and honorable...

And if he'd only straighten up a little he could be one.

The story alternates between witty and carefree to dark and very serious. A rather perfect mixture for a quest, no?

“Dying would have been so much easier.”

I finished the first book and went to the second one, The Queen of Attolia without a pause.

And if it's possible, I'm enjoy this one even more. You get catapulted into the story and something happens right off the start that caught me totally by surprise.

And made me rather angry.


Anyway! That's that. I recomend these books with five gold stars! Absolutely fantastic. :)

God bless!
Amy

One of those random posts.

I am reading a book called, "The Prisoner of Cell 25" and I am rather disappointed with it. The idea is brilliant, but I don't care for the characters very much and it's dragging right in the middle.
I might not finish it. I think the most important thing about any story is whether the characters are good or not. If I love the characters, even if the story is lame, I will still finish it. But if I don't like the characters, no mater how awesome the plot is, I get bored.



I made tons of cookies last weekend and my sisters and I had fun decorating them. I love sugar cookies but I don't make them very often because most recipes need the dough to chill for at least an hour and I'm the sort of person that hates to wait for my cookie dough to chill. :D But I bit the bullet and did it.
They were very yummy.

I used this recipe for the cookies.
And this one for the frosting.

I am really adicted to the TV show, "White Collar" right now.

Peter Burke is the best.

(I feel the need to mention that this show is usually very clean, but every now and then they through in some innuendo and not-so-good-stuff so just be cautions if you decide to watch them.)

I found this video pretty cool.




I've loved the idea of hairstick-daggers for quite a long time but I don't think people actually make them. I wonder why that is?
This isn't a hairstick but it is a dagger. How cool is that? I don't usually wear barrettes, but I'd make an exception for this. You can buy it HERE. It's lovely.

Isn't this song just beautiful?

God Bless!
Amy

Christmas-ness

I have had a hard time getting into a Christmas mood this year for some reason. I have no idea why.

I love Christmas.

It just has felt like Christmas is really far away.

Has anyone else noticed that there has been a decided lack of overall Christmas-ness this year? Or is that just me?

I mean, other than Christmas things showing up in the stores directly after Halloween, *Snark*  there just hasn't been much in the line of the 'spirit of the season.' 

I went Christmas shopping and no one wished me a Merry Christmas! 

I was like:

Furthermore, there wasn't even a 'happy holidays' or anything. I sort of hate the generic 'happy holidays' line. It's lame. And it feels way too politically correct. *Sneer.*

Pretty much, yeah. ;)

Even still, why is there absolutely no merriness? Or happiness? 

You watch old movies or listen to the old radio shows and people literally shout 'Merry Christmas!' to everyone they come in contact with! And there were always carolers and lights...*sigh.*

This song captures the feeling you should have at Christmas, in my humble opinion. At least, Christmas is pretty much like this at my house! 

I went to the library and checked out pretty much every Christmas book they had. I probably have twenty books, from picture books to decorating books, to the 'Christmas Carol.'

I have never actually read Dicken's 'Christmas Carol' but I want to. 

Christmas books are fantastic to put you back into the right mood. Especially the picture books.

One of my favorites is called 'The Gift of the Magi'-- the one illustrated by P.J. Lynch if possible.

This is such a sweet, lovely story. I cry every time I read it. In a good way, of course! Sad Christmas stories are not my fav. I like to get a warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy when I read Christmas stories. This one is perfect for the warm funzzies. :D I mean, take a look at that cover! *Fuzzy!*

Also, 'The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey' is awesome too. Also illustrated by P.J. Lynch. I love that man's illustrations. They are beautiful!

I've read, "The Long Christmas" every year since I was ten or eleven. It's a collection of traditional short stores and some of them are fantastic. You really can't beat Tradition when it comes to Christmas stuff.

Christmas music is absolutely a MUST. Crank it up, please. :) And not that stuff that plays in the stores, either. Real Christmas music. (Do not make my listen to Santa Baby one more time or I might scream. Loudly. In public.)

I think I've posted this song before, but it's one of my absolute favorites. And it's Josh Groban, so...





I think one of the reasons it hasn't felt very Christmas-y to me is we haven't had any snow. I live in a place where the whole 'white Christmas' thing happens pretty much every year. We usually have snow from November to May, minimum. But, besides one little snow storm almost a month ago, it's been clear here. But we got some yesterday! *Hip-hip-hurrah!* And everything seems a little bit better now.

I feel the need to run around and shout, "Merry Christmas!" to the world. I can see myself, a crazed look in my eyes, wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and smiling like a mad person...oh wait...That sounds like...




Perfect. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

God Bless you all.
Amy