Ever Me

♥♥♥

2012-02-14T16:02:00.000-05:00

In which I Catch Up On Recent Happenings

2012-02-11T22:01:00.003-05:00

This week has been...both very long and very short. I spent part of it dreading the results of the first math test (which did not go as well as I would've preferred), and the rest finishing up Literature readings and discussion board posts, and preparing for tests. Plus, I had a paper to revise about Ireland. Fun, fun, fun stuff. And after a few weeks of warm, Spring- and Summer-like weather, it snowed today.

In non-school related happenings, most of my time has been focused on Drama. We have a performance tomorrow night, and with the exception of our home church, this will be our first "repeat" performance—and by repeat, I refer to performing at a church we've been to before. We're all looking forward to it because we enjoyed our last performance there, and the people from that church seemed to enjoy it too. We've been mainly focusing on a new song, which involves signing and dancing...well, some of us are dancing. I'm one of the signers. (If I were dancing, I probably wouldn't make it through the first verse. I'm not that graceful. Moving on...) But, if you'd like to listen to one of the songs I have on the list, it's on the left sidebar, at the top ("Stolen," by Brandon Heath).

And reading! I've actually been able to read. For fun. I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoyed that. :) Most of it has been in ebook form, but that's mainly because I've been able to get several books from the local library's ebook selection to read. (I also found out a few really cool things about Fitz, which may be worthy of a rambling blog post of their own at some later date.)

And here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Taken Tuesday of this week.

One of the books I'm reading, though it's taking a while to finish. I love the opening paragraph.

Another picture from Tuesday.

"There You'll Find Me" Review

2012-01-27T23:28:00.002-05:00

Grief brought Finley to Ireland. LOVE WILL LEAD HER HOME.

Finley Sinclair is not your typical eighteen-year-old. She’s witty, tough, and driven. With an upcoming interview at the Manhattan music conservatory, Finley needs to compose her audition piece. But her creativity disappeared with the death of her older brother, Will.

She decides to study abroad in Ireland so she can follow Will’s travel journal. It’s the place he felt closest to God, and she’s hopeful being there will help her make peace over losing him. So she agrees to an exchange program and boards the plane.

Beckett Rush, teen heartthrob and Hollywood bad boy, is flying to Ireland to finish filming his latest vampire movie. On the flight, he meets Finley. She’s the one girl who seems immune to his charm. Undeterred, Beckett convinces her to be his assistant in exchange for his help as a tour guide.

Once in Ireland, Finley starts to break down. The loss of her brother and the pressure of school, her audition, and whatever it is that is happening between her and Beckett, leads her to a new and dangerous vice. When is God going to show up for her in this emerald paradise?

Then she experiences something that radically changes her perspective on life. Could it be God convincing her that everything she’s been looking for has been with her all along? (Booksneeze blurb)

Okay, so I've actually had this book since...like...November, I think. I was really excited to read it for two reasons: It takes places in Ireland, and I'd already read one of the author's books and enjoyed it. The delay in this review is the cause of a couple of reasons, but definitely not because this book wasn't good. It was!

First, Finley’s character is a great narrator. Throughout the book, she’s sarcastic and humorous, and a character that, by the end of the book, had me ready to cry right along with her. The other characters are great, too, and one of my favorites would have to be Beckett Rush. Sure, he made me dislike him several times, but overall, I loved him. He’s entertaining, and so fun, and in general, just sweet.

There were so many subplots I hadn’t expected, but I think they all worked together well and closed nicely at the end. I also enjoyed the notes at the beginning of each chapter. The setting of the story was just beautifully done. The descriptions were just enough to paint the image in my head, and I could almost hear the music described throughout.

This book was well-written, entertaining, and quite enjoyable. Although, despite having read Save the Date before reading this one, it wasn’t until after I finished There You’ll Find Me that I realized that the two are connected. So yeah, if you want to know a little more about the Sinclairs, read Save the Date as well, which I’ve already reviewed.

A few of my favorite quotes from this book:

He gave me a slow wink. “They’re fangs.”
“Kind of sad you have to use props to get the girls.”
“It’s absolutely tragic, isn’t it?” His smile reached his eyes. “Be sure to put me on your prayer list.”

“And as for girls who try to stay away from me—my charm always wears them down.”
“I’m up-to-date on my shots, so I’m pretty much immune to everything.”
Beckett just tipped his chair back and laughed. “Famous last words, Flossie. Famous last words.”

“You sounded down on the phone yesterday. You can talk to your old dad anytime about anything, you know. Except boys. And bras. And that Bieber fellow.”

“That girl is a Bufo marinus.”
“Did you just cuss in scientific terms?”
“She’s a toad.”

“Frances, dearest,” he drawled, “when we get back home, I will give you that wedding ring you’ve begged me for. It’s only right after you gave me those triplets at the ripe age of sixteen.”
“I’m an unwed mother?” I hissed.
“I’m a diseased baby daddy.”
This made me laugh. “I think you just got the title for your next movie.”

** I received this book free from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review. **

He's here!

2012-01-26T23:02:00.000-05:00

Fitz, that is.

I haven't posted about him before. But I'll tell you about him now. He arrived at my house on Monday, and has been close by ever since.

I'm quite fond of him.

This was when I first opened the box he came in.

One of the screensavers. A new one shows up whenever he's in sleep mode. This is my favorite.

A snippet of one of the free books...

He even reads Ever Me!

I love the random stuff you hear on the radio.

2012-01-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

It is a truth of possible universal acknowledgment that I have been a negligent blogger.

Not on purpose, but rather for lack of post ideas.But, since I'm sitting here, listening to Air1, I decided that I really should post something.

Even though school has started back, there isn't much going on outside of that. I've been studying exponents and post-Civil War American history, and researching stuff about Ireland for a Sociology paper. And reading ancient Mesopotamian literature. And my brain is still functioning properly, I think, so all is well. I'm still figuring out what schedule works for studying, since all but one of my classes are online this semester.

The drama team had a performance last Sunday night, and we used our new set/backdrop, and a mostly-new set list. Overall, I think it went okay. The church gave us a copy of the DVD they made of the service, and we watched it Wednesday night to go over what needed improvement. There was cringing when we got to the awkward pause when we forgot what song was next, and then the equally awkward moment where I was the only one on stage and the wrong song started playing. ._. After a few awkward chuckles, the show went on. Our next performance is this Sunday night, and we don't have another until February.

That is pretty much everything that has been going on around here. And now, I go to answer those comments I've not gotten to yet. My apologies!

A picture from the other day.

2012-01-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

You. Yes, you, person reading this blog on the screen of your computer/phone/whatever-other-device-is-internet-equipped-these-days, this is to say thanks. Thanks for bringing a daily pageview to 53, the highest number of views Ever Me has had in a single day.

You made my day.

It's 2012!

2011-12-31T23:52:00.001-05:00

Christmas 2011 (Otherwise known as the post with many pictures)

2011-12-30T01:07:00.000-05:00

This year, we went to Chattanooga to visit my dad's family. We got there Friday night, and stayed until after lunch on Sunday. Saturday was a fairly busy day. My aunt sent us to see a movie, and we went to this awesome Chinese restaurant at one of the malls. (Their food is fantastic! Totally worth driving down there just to eat there, and I know people who have.) We ended up seeing two movies that were in the same time slot. My dad doesn't do 3D movies, and my youngest brother wanted to watch "Sherlock Holmes," so they went to watch that while me, Mom, my other brother, and my sister went to see "Arthur Christmas." (Planning to do a review for that one soon.) We also went to Walmart for some last minute shopping, and then we went to a thrift store. And after that, we returned to my dad's parents' house where last minute wrapping was done, and my mamaw let me hold the Kindle Fire she got for Christmas. ^_^

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to gather together and listen to Dad read the Christmas story and The Night Before Christmas. After that, we head off to bed.

Christmas morning, we just opened one small present and our stockings. We stayed there until lunch, and then we left. We stopped at an old Civil War camp-turned-soccer field to open the rest of our presents. A new and interesting experience, and quite fun.


Our Christmas "tree"

Dad wearing his new jacket


Mom opening her present from Dad—a pretty ring.

TMan with one of his presents.

Hoopy with one of his presents. (A hat with lights in it is quite fun.)

Roosie with two of her favorite books ever.

Above photos taken by me or my mom.

Then we set off on a 2+ hour road trip back home, just in time to go to mom's parents' for Christmas supper. (I forgot to upload the pictures for that one to Flickr.) It was fun. I spent the evening snapping pictures, eating, and watching a couple of movie trailers. And discussing movies. (I have family who are Tolkien fans as well. Stuff like that happens.)

Here are some pictures of some of my presents this year, in case you were interested. (Feel free to ignore the unswept floor of my room.)


This thing was filled with all kinds of goodies. (A whole pack of Reese's peanut butter trees, for example!)

Necklace from Mom and Dad. It's actually silver, but the flash on my camera makes it look kinda gold.


New boots! (from Mom and Dad)

"Thor" puzzle from Mom and Dad. The headphones were in my stocking. The purse is from my sister.

"Wizard of Oz" purse from my Nena and Padaddy (Mom's parents).

Plaid notebooks and folders from Mom and Dad.

"Sasquatch" notebooks and folders from Mom and Dad. "Sasquatch" is one of my nicknames.

New journals from Mom and Dad.

Page of pink journal.

Page of owl journal.

Tin of M&M's candies, from Nena and Padaddy.

Made by my friend, MLo. I call it "The French Moose." Isn't he cute? (It's one of the Drama team's nicknames for me. Long story.)

And, of course, if you want to see a Christmas "miracle," just glance at the photo below.

Smurph usually hisses at Dee when he's this close. Christmas night, they ate Christmas dinner together and shared in the warmth that came from our air vent.

2011 Top Tens: Movies

2011-12-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

This year turned out to be a good year in movies, more so that I expected it to be. Here are just the ten that made my top list. (Not all of them were 2010 releases, but since I didn't see them until 2011, I'm including them.)

10.) X-Men: First Class

Lots of Marvel movies in the last few years, and yeah...I've liked lots of them. Having seen the other movies in the X-Men series, this was on my list of movies to see. Plus, it has James McAvoy in it, and I like his acting (and his accent). ^_^ Good movie for the action/adventure fans.

** Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language. (Definitely a heads-up on the language—somewhat infrequent— and the partial nudity refers basically to some of the costuming seen in the film. Some of the fight scenes may be intense for some.)**

9.) Soul surfer

This one was excellently done. The acting was quite good, and it was a fun movie to watch (I've seen it two or three times, though I don't yet own it). I definitely recommend it.
** Rated PG for an intense accident sequence, and some thematic material.**

8.) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

My sister is a big fan of the book series, so we rented this for her. It's hilarious (as are the books). This is based on the second book in the series (there's also a movie for the first book). The cartoon-versions of the characters pretty cool too, the way they are used in the film.

** Rated PG for some mild humor and mischief. **

7.) Arthur Christmas

I'll probably have a review up for this soon. Watched it on Christmas Eve with my family, and it's funny and cute. And it has James McAvoy playing a nerdy character. (Arthur's laugh is adorable, in a geeky sort of way, I might add.)

** Rated PG for some mild rude humor. **

6.) Inception/Source Code
These aren't usually my kind of movie, but I was impressed by them both. They were complex, fast-paced, and kept me guessing. Out of the two, "Inception" is probably my very favorite. Just be warned, when you start watching them, you can't leave without pausing; miss five seconds and you miss something important.
** "Inception" is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action. (On a sidenote, the language is pretty infrequent, but somewhat strong in some cases.) "Source Code" is rated PG-13 for some violence including disturbing images, and for language. (Same advisory as "Inception"; language is fairly infrequent but strong.) **

5.) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
I've already written a review for this one, but it still makes the top 10. Not quite my favorite of the series, but fun nonetheless. Recommended for fans of action/adventure movies, or the POTC series.
** Rated Pg-13 for sexual content/nudity, language, and some violence. (Not sure what the nudity rating is for...unless it's the mermaids, and nothing is actually seen. Language is mild and very infrequent.) **

4.) Courageous
Another previously reviewed movie, but worth recommending again. Didn't catch it in theatres? It's due out on DVD in January. Great movie for the entire family. Funny, heart-breaking, and entertaining all at once.
** Rated PG-13 for violence and some drug content. **

3.) Thor
This one almost takes second place, because it's one that surprised me by how much I liked it (which explains why I have the movie poster hanging beside the "X-Men: First Class" poster in my room). Another previously reviewed movie. Recommended for action/adventure fans. Or fans of Marvel.
** Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence. (Mild language advisory. Super infrequent.)

2.) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Another recommended movie for fans of action/adventure films. Recently reviewed. Very fun and fast-paced.

** Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material. (Brief, partial nudity of a character, mild language.) **

1.) Disney's Tangled

Yes, it's technically a 2010 movie, but I didn't watch it until 2011. After much thought and debating and comparing, I've decided this one gets #1, just because I loved it so much. It's cute, funny, and a fairy tale. So much to love. Definitely recommended.

**Rated PG for brief mild violence.**

And there you have them, my top favorite movies of the year. What movies made it to your favorites list?

**Poster images and rating info found at IMDb**

From Me to You...

2011-12-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

Merry

Christmas!

In which I go all Tolkien-Nerd

2011-12-20T22:41:00.006-05:00

Forty-six minutes ago, the official trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was released.

That, dear readers, is monumental.

Along with this trailer:

We get this poster:

Acquired from CinemaBlend

And, for giggles, I give you this. If you feel inclined to try it yourself, go to Google Maps. In point A, type "The Shire," and in point B, type "Mordor." Click the estimated walking distance, and "Get Directions." And then laugh.

I'm sure somewhere Boromir is shaking his head and saying, "I told you so."

What are your thoughts on the trailer?

"It's so overt, it's covert."

2011-12-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room... until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large - Professor Moriarty - and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.
Holmes' investigation into Moriarty's plot becomes ever more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London and across Europe, to France, Germany and finally to Switzerland.
But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction - all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

(from Yahoo! Movies)

I went to see this movie Friday night, as a sort of "end of the semester" reward with my mom. And I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. As soon as I heard they were making this movie, I put it on my list of movies to keep track of, and eagerly awaited its arrival in theatres.

This one takes place approximately a year or so after the first movie ends. We meet Watson as he narrates the story, and what began the case that the movie revolves around. Soon after, we're thrown into a tale of murder, mystery, and war as Watson and Holmes travel from London to Paris to Switzerland in search of one Professor Moriarty.

If you've seen the first movie, you'll probably enjoy this one. If you haven't, you'll probably enjoy it anyway. This is definitely capable of being a standalone film. Through the whole movie, the only direct mentions to anything that happened in the first film are few and rare. Moriarty mentions that Holmes has gotten in his way, and we also see Irene Adler for a short time. (Did anyone else totally not see that coming? Or was it just me?)

The style of the movie does seem a bit different than the first. The lighting is brighter, and not quite so Gothic as the other. As the film progresses, the lighting does take a darker turn to reflect the mood. I loved the banter between Holmes and Watson. It's hilarious and memorable, and so much fun. While there's plenty of plot in this movie, there's quite a bit of focus placed on the characters as well. We get to see various aspects of their personalities that we didn't get to see in the first film. We also meet several new characters, including Madam Sim, Mycroft Holmes, and James Moriarty.

The movie is balanced, just the right amount of action and suspense, and remains entertaining. The stakes are higher, as we come to find out that Moriarty is quite the rival for Holmes. Oh, and all of this takes place during the time leading up to Watson's wedding to Mary.

This movie is kind of hard to review without giving away spoilers, so I have covered just about everything I can in order to avoid that. Overall, I'd recommend it if you're into action/adventure movies, mysteries, and possibly historical. Plus, it has a really good soundtrack.

Here's the trailer:

** "A Game of Shadows" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material. Some smoking and alcohol usage (occasional drunk characters). One brief scene of a nude character, but they are concealed by strategically placed books so that nothing is seen. Some suggestive dialogue. Mild language, and rather infrequent. **

Another glimpse into my world.

2011-12-18T22:22:00.000-05:00

Now that I am officially on break from school until January, I should be able to update a bit more here. Some of the finals weren't as bad as expected, and some were still not pleasant. One was probably a bit harder than I thought it might be. Still, I've had an okay semester. It could've been better, but hey, I'm still glad I made a B in math! :)

Most of everything around here has been focused on school and Christmas. Our tree is up, as are some other decorations. I enjoy sitting in our living room when our decorations our turned on. All kinds of colorful lights adorn our living room. Smurph, being quite taken with Christmas (as she was last year), has claimed the tree as her own personal place to play. Dee, on the other hand, doesn't seem to share her enjoyment of the holidays. We took him to the vet for a checkup the other day, and he doesn't require another visit until next month. They had to amputate one of his legs, but he's doing great, and I'm not entirely sure that he knows it's missing...

Among these holiday preparations, we went to my grandparents' house the other day to make candy. Every year we make different kinds of fudge. It tastes lovely. :) We also had a drama performance at church tonight. I had four songs in this set list, and overall, they went well. Our youth group Christmas party was Wednesday night, and we spent the evening playing Christmas Jeopardy, karaoke, and dancing. Yeah...some interesting videos of that...

I'm working on a movie review to have up soon, probably in a couple of days. It'll be for "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows."

So, yeah. I'm kind of hooked on this show.

2011-12-06T21:45:00.000-05:00

I only have a few shows that currently mark my favorites list, and this is the most recent addition. Basically, take just about any fairy tale you can think of, put them all in one place, and throw in the most unexpected twists. That's the best way to explain this show.

And I love it.

** Mild Spoilers Ahead **

Henry

The evil queen has placed a curse on the people of the fairy tale world in order to get revenge on Snow White. All the happy endings have been taken away, as well as the memories of the fairy tales. This is where we come to Storybrooke, a small town where almost everyone knows each other—or so they think. Henry, the mayor's son, knows the truth: everyone in Storybrooke is a fairy tale character, and they don't even remember it.

This is Emma. Birth mother of Henry, and according to him, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Hesitant to believe she's really the key to breaking the curse, she still decides to stay in Storybrooke for a while.

The evil queen. In Storybrooke, she's Mayor Regina Mills, and the adoptive mother of Henry. She seems to remember who everyone is.

Dr. Hopper

Dr. Hopper is Henry's psychiatrist.
Great backstory, and one of the first characters we meet from Storybrooke.

Sheriff Graham

Mr. Gold

Rumplestiltskin. Just about everybody in the fairy tale has made a deal with him. And he may or may not know more than anyone else does in Storybrooke.

Mary Margaret

There's more to Snow White's story than what one would think. In the fairy tale, she's wanted for thievery and murder. In Storybrooke, she's Henry's schoolteacher.

Prince Charming. Lovely story about how he met Snow. Actually, his entire story is quite interesting. Especially this week's episode. (I won't spoil that for you.)

David

Images from Google and ABC.

A glimpse into my world...

2011-12-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

Look, it's only been a week since my last post! I'm blaming school and life in general for that. Thankfully, this semester is almost done, and while I enjoy school (mostly), I am looking forward to the break after Finals. (Although I do wish the Finals were already over with!) I'm dreading them quite a bit. But as for the good news, two of my classes are completely done with the classroom notes, and all that's left to do is finishing up some writing assignments and math homework. And tons of studying.

As for NaNo, I didn't even come close to 50K this year. I made it 20,575, and I'm happy with that. The major setup of the story is in place now, and I'll have time to expand it now.

In other news, life hasn't been boring. My cousin and her family came up a couple of weeks ago, and we were able to spend some time with them before they left. They gave us their old minivan (it's actually not that old), which means I now have a vehicle I can drive until I get my own. Yay! Plus the minivan has a sunroof. Summer road trips should be fun. :) Of course, I doubt that our cat, Dee, is fond of it. He has this terrible habit of lounging in our driveway, and at night, he's basically invisible. Let's just say the back tire of the minivan found him and we took a near-midnight trip to another town to get him to the vet. Nothing was broken, but he had to have surgery on one of his legs. Now he gets to a wear a cast that's red, white, and green for Christmas. I suppose it doesn't do anything good for his pride when he's being taken to the vet in the minivan that caused the injury...

And Christmas is on its way! This year, Ever Me is outfitted in a "The Year Without A Santa Claus" theme, with the Miser Brothers. (What can I say? I love the classics. I've watched them since I was just a wee little girl. ^_^ And yes, I did watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" earlier tonight.) The videos at the top of each sidebar is the song that I've used the lyrics from for the background.

And now, I give you pictures!

Purple cotton candy from this year's Winterfest.

Fireworks from Winterfest

More fireworks

My poor injured kitty. Of course, you know he would have to go and sit behind the back tire of the van to show it who's boss. ^_^

Christmas decoration from my grandparents' tree. My sister and I helped decorate it this year.

The manger scene my grandfather has put up in their yard for as long as I can remember.

Despite the fact I was trying to work on school stuff and a novel, Smurph felt that I should spend that time paying attention to her. And she wanted to steal the pizza I was eating at the time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:03:00.001-05:00

Just a few things I'm thankful for...

* Salvation!

* Family

* Friends (you, too, Blog Buddies!)

* Pets

* Notebooks

* Pens & Pencils

* Books

* Fuzzy Socks

* Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino

* My computer

* Internet

* Posters

* My camera

* Our vehicles

* Our house

* ...and lots, lots more!

A Movie Trailer

2011-11-18T00:02:00.000-05:00

Because I lack inspiration for a "real" blog post right now, I thought I'd share with you the trailer for the "The Hunger Games." From what I can tell, it's pretty loyal to the book, and I'd like to go see it when it comes to theatres in March. I'm also guessing there is possibly a hint at the events in Catching Fire, going by one quick scene in the trailer. So, here it is.

And, if you like the Mockingjay call at the end of the trailer, Amazon currently has it on their free MP3 downloads list, which you can get to by clicking here.

Long Time, No Post

2011-11-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

Due to the busyness of general life, my poor blog looks like it has been neglected by its author (apologies, blog).

This week was another round of tests, since some were moved and some were on schedule, and so I ended up with a math test and American history test. (I won't get into the Gateway. It's too nightmarish.) We've been working with MS Excel in Computer class, and it's a very nifty program, but it's kind of confusing. And difficult. And as for science...aside from the fact that I probably won't look at food the same again for a while, it's been okay. We just finished Chemistry and nutrition, and we're heading back into DNA. Fun, fun stuff.

Oh, and as a high point of the week, I won a contest! It actually was quite a nice way to start a Monday. My school's theatre/music department is putting on their Fall play, which is a musical of "Little Women." They gave away a few sets of tickets, and I won two tickets! Which works out nicely, since I have to watch one more play for my Theatre class. I'm also really curious to find out if any of the people from the music class at the campus I attend are going to be in it. (We hear them all the time in Theatre, and they sound great, even if I don't know who they are.)

Last week I went to see my adviser and to get my schedule worked out for the Spring semester. I was able to get into the four classes I wanted, and if all goes well, I will be finished with my history requirements at the end of the Spring semester, and almost done with math. I'll also have a literature class. Since I'm hoping to find a job after the Fall semester is over, I'm taking all of my classes online except for math. And basically, I'm hoping to get a car. Not because I particularly like driving, but because it's just going to make things a lot easier, schedule-wise, if I have one. (So if y'all wouldn't mind praying about that, I'd appreciate it a lot.)