june reading: the hunger games

i heard about the hunger games trilogy a few weeks back and decided to read them to see why they are so popular (also because they're making it into a movie). i'm so glad i did. they were fantastic - i couldn't put them down. i haven't breezed through a series that fast since harry potter & twilight.

i started the first one, the hunger games, two sundays ago and finished it by that monday night. then i ordered all three of them (in beautiful hardback!) from amazon and waited anxiously for them to come - which they did last wednesday. i was silly and wanted to savor them since they were so good so i decided i would read some more of the count of monte cristo and then go back to the series. that didn't last long. after a couple days i pulled out the second one, catching fire, and finished it in a day and a half, then immediately picked up the last one, mockingjay, and read it until 1am to finish it. i loved them.

i can see what people were saying of how they have a similar feel to twilight or that people who liked twilight would like them. i will say that if you didn't like twilight you may still very much like these. the story is completely different as well as the characters. i guess the similarity comes from it being written from the main girl's perspective, katniss, and that there is a love triangle and an overcoming the odds kind of dynamic to it. very different from twilight in my opinion though.

a writer for EW wrote a good article about the first one, which i enjoyed reading. you can read it here.

now that i'm a massive fan of the books, i am really excited about the first book coming out as a movie next year. i think they'll do a really good job with it and i like who they've cast. i'm not familiar with the majority of them, but stanley tucci will be brilliant in his role as the flamboyant television host, caesar. click here to see the cast.

so if you haven't checked out the hunger games yet, go ahead and at least give them a try. if you don't like them you don't have to finish them. but chances are you'll be looking for book 2 & 3 as soon as you fly through book 1.

mumford & stuff

its been a while since i posted so it could be super long post, but i don't want it to be so i've condensed the mumford trip and all its happenings into single words and short phrases. you may not get it, but this record's mainly for me... so suck it gil!

mumford concert/maryland trip

thursday. mcmahons house. too early. starbucks. small bladders. pee break. starbucks. fender bender. stupid lady with poodle. bad attitudes. better attitudes. great music: avett bros, the tallest man on earth, the local natives, the noisettes, eddie vedder and more. more pee breaks. "dang it laura! you have to pee again?". chitty chitty bang bang. quiznos. "are we there yet?". dc traffic. bad attitudes. missed exits. arrive. concert. mesh. clouds. thunder. sprinkling. pouring. monsoon. soaked. lightning. "get your stuff we're finding shelter." "oh wait.. nevermind we'll wait it out.".  more rain. two bands that were decent enough but that i don't really remember. mumford. amazing. beer. dancing. singing. orange hat. beer. handicap bathroom. more mumford. epic. finish. parking deck traffic. 40 minutes to jenn's. "gil!! we missed our exit again". more missed exits. mcdonalds. jenn's. dry clothes. exhausted. leaky air mattress. little sleep. wake up early. shower. thanks. leave. starbucks. "laura has to pee again.". bojangles, yuck. traveling. bowling. chitty chitty bang bang. sleeping. arrive home. youth banquet set-up. home. sleep. loved it all.

books

sunday i took a short break from the count of monte cristo (about 400 pages in so far) to pick up the hunger games and see if i like it. i do. i loved it. its very interesting and fun to read. halfway through the book i ordered all 3 of the books from amazon. can't wait for them to arrive. finished the hunger games last night. thanks abby moore for letting me borrow! now i will go back to monte cristo and persevere. its very interesting but so very long. i think i'll read 200 more pages and then take a break to read the 2nd hunger games book that will have probably arrived by then. that or i'll read something borrowed that liz has loaned me.


movies

midnight in paris. see it.




oh and i just have to mention. i got an email from fandango letting me know that advance tickets for harry potter and the deathly hallow part 2 is now on sale. AHH! one more month!!

television

the voice. i was super excited about this show. the coaches were fun people and the whole premise of the show was to focus on the voice. pure talent. and that's what it was.... up until the live shows. last week was horrid and i thought.. hmm maybe it was just a bad first week. last night was the second week and it was just as bad. it if wasn't for adam levine's beautiful face, i wouldn't be watching it next week.

i have always been team adam, but the further it goes along the more i am. amid the lack of talent and the stupid flash and glam of reeeeeally bad back up dancers, bad outfits, fire baton twirlers and terrible performances and pitchy singing, adam's team stands out in its simplicity and pure talent. the people in his team are so much better than the others. the only people i like oustide of adam's team are vicci (team cee lo) and xenia (team blake).

for a show that was suppose to be about "the voice" its gotten way more flashy and cheesy than american idol, which isn't an easy feat. totally disappointing.

but even beyond the terrible performances of the teams, every week christina is completely annoying, her boobs are always falling out. she wears too tight clothing for how big she's gotten and she's always a nice ripe orange color with the worst possible make up and hair color combination you can get. i mean come on girl - you're rich as anything.. you don't have to have a bad tan and fake looking hair. have some class. and i'm not going to start on cee lo's constant state of red jumpsuits and his hideous mustache and goatee he's growing. i keep expecting him to turn into randy jackson and shout "she's in it to win it!" ... oh and alison haislip "v correspondent" is annoying enough all by herself to make me want to turn to a different channel.

but.... adam and his team haven't disappointed me me yet, so for that i will continue to watch the show. this has made me love adam levine more than ever. he is by far the best coach and musician. i guess we'll see how it plays out. (oh and seeing him every week just makes me more and more excited to see him in concert in august!!!).

and that's the end of my rant.

to end i will leave you with a couple funny videos and a picture of a hilarious quote. pardon the language at the end in the between two ferns video.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

number 34

i love rainy days. on this particular rainy day i stayed inside, watched a previous season episode of private practice with mom, took a nice nap and read more of the count of monte cristo.

i have been devouring monte cristo - i love it. when i ordered it i wondered if it would take me months and months to finish it (considering its 1400 page girth) but it is so engaging and wonderful to read i am already  15 chapters and 154 pages in. i will finish this sucker in no time. i find myself thinking about it when i'm doing responsible things (like working) and wishing i could be reading it. i'm at the point where edmond dantes (number 34) is about to meet abbe faria! so good.

i have long loved the story through film, but as wonderful as the french mini-series is, even 6 hours can't capture in detail the contents of a 1,000+ page book. so in reading it i feel like i'm sneaking behind the scenes and getting the full story to each little piece of the story. i love it and can't wait to read more of it.

the american idol finale has come and gone - and it was wonderful. the tuesday performance part of the finale majorly sucked - terrible pacing, not that great of songs and it just felt rushed. but wednesday's finale made up for it - it had so many awesome musical guests and it was all very entertaining. there were several fantastic performances, but i have to say i was the most impressed with steven tyler's performance of dream on. i mean the dude's 63 (how is that even possible? he seems early 50s maybe) and his performance and vocals were spot on - even mom (who listened to him when he was young and knows what he sounded like in his peak) thought he sounded great. mom and i were on the edge of our seat (well not really - we were in bed) to see if he would hit that high falsetto part of dream on. we were like "is he gonna do it... is he gonna do it.. no he can't he won't be able to.. idk.. will he will he will he will he?" haha. we were ridiculous. and then BAM! he went all falsetto on us and we shrieked. haha. it was phenomenal. granted it was all the giddiness of the moment, but still it was an excellent performance.. take a listen (he goes high at the end).




and then at the end.. SCOTTY WON!!! i was so excited. Scotty!!!!!




wednesday brought the last oprah winfrey show ever. i can't say i ever watched her show, but it seemed like a big deal that it was ending so i watched it. can you imagine 25 years doing a show every single day and then ending it. now that's a finale.

of course with oprah ending her show have been some funny responses. @BorowitzReport on twitter tweeted this:

and of course ellen degeneres' videos have been hilarious.



needless to say - ellen beats oprah hands down. haha. at some point in time i'm going to watch her show every day. i love it.




well in closing i would like to say i have gotten my dad hooked on the harry potter books - score! and now it is not uncommon to hear "malfoy" and "hagrid" coming from his mouth. love it.

also this morning i took the sorting hat test to see which house i would be in if i was a character in harry potter. not surprisingly it came back basically telling me i'm either 1. a multi-talented and completely rounded person, 2. i'm a completely boring and even person, or 3. i have multiple personality disorder. in any case i would almost equally be in either ravenclaw, griffindor or hufflepuff. click here to take the test yourself. (if you do, post what you were!) haha.

 

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Your in-depth results are:

Ravenclaw - 13

Gryffindor - 11

Hufflepuff - 10

Slytherin - 6

now i'm off to watch the new robin hood with mom and dad. happy memorial day weekend!

endings

the end. there can be a variety of feeling surrounding those two short words depending on what the story was, how it ended, whether you liked it or didn't like it.

endings have been on my mind a lot. everything from the endings of television shows and books series to the end of seasons of life and even the end of life itself.

the end of something is just as important as the beginning. its in the end that you can see how well you walked through the past season. you can see the mistakes you make and the things you did right, the good attitudes you had and the bad.

recently my best friend's granddad passed away and it brought back all the memories of my own granddaddy and his death back in december. life is such a odd thing when you think of it - it can be taken away in a second, but it can also hang around and let you get to be old and gray with years and years of experiences behind you. young people die, old people die. in the end its more about how you lived your life and what is important to you rather than the experiences you've had or the length of your life.

on the flipside my friend mindy is having a baby - new life. this is an exciting time and i am thrilled for her. with this comes the start of a new season - mindy with kids. the season of her being single, then her just newly married is now passed. we're all growing up. what will i be able to say about my life when i look back - both at each end of the seasons of my life and ultimately at the very end? i hope i'll be able to say i made the most of each. that i rejoiced in the season the Lord had me and that i lived each day for him, finding joy in the little things. i don't want to look back on each season as i pass into a new one, sad that i wasted the one i was in because i was so eager to get to the next one.

the older i get the more i realize how fast life goes by. when i was in high school i just wanted to be graduated. when i was younger i just wanted to be married or to have a boyfriend. now i realize just how quickly it all passes by and in some way how unimportant my wishes and desires of the moment are. God is working his plan in me and it will be the best plan, regardless of what my feelings tell me at the moment. knowing that God is in control and that all the things you desire aren't really that important in the scope of life gives you perspective to live without worry or fear. sure - i want to have desires and dreams. i want to accomplish some of them and i can work towards that. but at the same time i don't have to worry about this or that - will i get married, will i have kids, what will i do for a career - because in the end my life is going to go the way it goes and the main purpose of my life is to find what the Lord has for me in each circumstance, even if its contrary to what i thought i wanted for these years.

this is what i remind myself of. somedays i believe it more than others - but it is always true. trusting God and being joyful in your circumstances is always the best way to live. that way when i pass into the next season of my life - whatever and whenever that may be - i can look back and though i won't have lived it perfectly, i can look back without regret having not wasted away the season by discontent or wishing for different circumstances. this is my goal.

on the lighter side of life, i have also been watching a lot of season finales on television and finishing good books.

a while ago i started re-reading back through the harry potter series. i can't remember if this was my 2nd or 3rd time through, but i enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than the first time. i kind of dropped off around book 5 but picked book 6 back up and re-started the reading of them a few weeks ago. i finished harry potter and the deathly hallows (the final one) a couple days ago. man i cried all through the last two books. haha. i always do. {spoiler...} dumbledore dies, dobby dies, fred dies.. and various others. i literally have to read them with a box of tissues (which i did). i love a story that can get me so involved - especially a series of books since having such a long expanse to tell a story gives you more detail and more time to get attached to the characters. after finishing the last book i was so sad it was over, i almost wanted to start reading them again. i am more eager than ever for the last harry potter movie to come out.

i love these three.

last night was the season finale of bones which was very good. angela had her baby over which i cried my eyes out. the older i get the more special having a baby seems to me... even if its just a fictional character i like on screen. i can't imagine what its going to be like when mindy's having her baby! gah i can't wait. anyways... angela had her baby and then {spoiler...} shocker! bones revealed at the last part of the show that she was pregnant and the booth is the father. awesome! i can't wait for next season.

i also love them. 

there are several more season finales coming up - GLEE on tuesday, but more importantly - the american idol finale is on tuesday as well!! i haven't watched american idol in years, but i watched this season with mom and dad. it was pretty good. one of my favorites, haley, went home last night, but i'm still pleased with who is in the finale. and now i don't have to wonder who i'll vote for. SCOTTTTTTY!!!! :)

i'm sad all my normal shows won't be around in the summer, but thursday brings a wonderful beginning - so you think you can dance. favorite show of the summer. so excited for this. i adore this show. and mary murphy is back as a judge this season. yesssss! she is sometimes so annoying, but i really missed her last season. she's like the paula of sytycd. 

as a closing note, the count of monte cristo finally arrived and i am eager to start it! i'll let you know how it like it. hope you all have a wonderful friday! a few short work hours and then its the weekend! hurray! :)

april & may reading: harry potter 6 / the count of monte cristo

sorry for the lack of posts this last week. i didn't feel inspired to write anything so i didn't. lol. but now i would like to tell you about what i plan to read this next month.

i haven't done official posts for each of them, but since february when i started reading more classics i've enjoyed jane eyre, pride and prejudice and a room with a view. i loved reading these because each of these have at least one movie version and i enjoyed watching the movies after reading the books. surprisingly the movies do well sticking to the originals.

when i finished a room with the view at the beach i went to start the count of monte cristo that i had grabbed off the shelf at home,  but sadly it was an abridged copy. i hate abridged copies so i put it down and decided to not read it until i could have the full version.

in the mean time i decided to take a break from the classics and i opened up the 6th harry potter which i had brought as well, harry potter and the half-blood prince. i started reading back through the series a while ago, but dropped off it a couple months ago after finished book 5. i love harry, ron and hermoine so its always fun to open the books back up and enter their world. this time is no different. i've really been enjoying reading them again. i love that there are movies for them too. even though the movies wouldn't be all that great by themselves, if you've read the books, its so much fun to see pieces of the books played out. plus who doesn't like a little rupert grint? :) i can't WAIT for harry potter and the deathly hallows: part 2 coming out this summer!! the new trailer for its out... take a look:



i cried my eyes out reading the last book and fully expect to do the same in the movie. i also want to have a several day movie watching extravaganza to watch the whole series of movies right before the new one comes out and we see it in theatres. ah!! so excited.

but enough about harry. now lets talk about edmond dantes.

edmond dantes is the main character in the book the counte of monte cristo. if you are not familiar with the story, acquaint yourself. it is one of the finest stories i know. as i have not yet read the book, my familiarity of this story stems from our favorite movie version of the count - a french version with english subtitles starring gerard depardieu. we watched it when it aired on bravo years and years ago and since then its been a family favorite. we weren't used to watching subtitled movies back then, but we got used to it and - because the story is set in france - hearing everything in french just adds that extra element to the story.



my mom, dad and i enjoyed watching through the french mini-series version again on our beach trip. it was as good as always. the music to this movie is incredible as well. so go watch it!

when i got home i was more determined than ever to read the count, but since we didn't have it at home i put a hold on it at the public library. the one i put on hold said it was the full version - all 1400 pages of it - but alas, when mom picked it up from the library it was yet another abridged copy. so i set out to just buy a copy of the unabridged on amazon. after searching around for a few minutes i realized it was not as easy a thing as i thought; never in my life have i seen so many different versions and translations all with differing reviews. the tricky part - which i didn't realize when i started out - was that because this book was originally written in french, any english versions have been translated and as such different translations have different reviews and some are better than others. after researching around a bit i found a version i was satisfied with and added it to the cart. then came the amazon dilemma: "if i just get it up to 25 bucks i don't have to pay shipping - what else could i get?" 

while i was on the subject of books i thought i'd just order another paperbook classic to read after the count. but THEN of course you notice another special and start adding book upon book and in the end i spent not the planned $15 but upwards of $50. ha. i have never ever been sad about anything i've purchased from amazon though, so i don't regret it. actually i am very excited! because the special that was going on was with the classic paperback books and it was a 4-for-3 deal. buy 3 get the 4th free. so here is what i ended up ordering and what will be my classic reading list for the indefinite future:

#1  the count of monte cristo
      by alexandre dumas

#2  les miserables
      by victor hugo

#3  anna karenina
      by leo tolstoy

#4  the house of mirth
      by edith wharton

#5  tess of the d'urbervilles
      by thomas hardy

#6: the complete poems of john keats


















as you can see i'm being quite adventurous - going toward the extremely long and difficult classics like monte cristo, les mis and anna karenina. but i think i'm going to enjoy it. it'll also last me quite a while as each of those are close if not over 1,000 pages each. i ordered keats not so much to read straight through as to enjoy now and then. i love several of keat's poems (ode to a nightingale being my favorite) and i'm looking forward to exploring more of his poetry.

so all in all - i am VERY excited about all the lovely books coming my way! they've shipped so they should be here soon and i can finally start the count. :)

i hope you all are enjoying this most lovely day - i sure am! now its off to keep reading harry potter 6! happy saturday!

3 days to go

3 days to go for jeremy current's fundraising for his new album! he's raised $4,998 so far.... only $1,002 to go! i know i've mentioned this before on here, but if you haven't yet pledged.. help him out! it would be so sad to come this close and not make the last $1,000... so do your part to make this album happen!

here's a new video promoting his cd and the upcoming show and cd release event this friday night at the neighborhood theatre. so watch the video below, make a pledge, and make sure to check out his concert friday night!

for more details and to pledge click here.


Jeremy Current | Dark Land of the Sun from Jon Muedder on Vimeo.


the beach continues to be fantastic. sun's been shining bright! we are all definitely sunburnt. we have enjoyed having my sister kat and her husband david join us for the past 3 days (they head home tonight). i can't believe mom, dad, parker & i get to stay for 5 more days! it already seems like we've been here a while.

in book news i finished a room with a view and i loved it as much as i do the movie. there were a few differences but overall the book and the movie are very similar. it was a fun read. i haven't decided what i'm going to read next... maybe i'll take a break from classics and read the 6th harry potter. i was reading through the harry potter series again a while ago and dropped off from it. we'll see what strikes my fancy. i started piper's finally alive on the beach today. its good so far. i've only read the intro and first chapter but it seems like it will make for an interesting read.

well i'm off to watch a movie with the family. i'll leave you with a few more beach photos. happy monday!

Oh no, I blinked! - Parker

Monday sunset

"'I'd rather go through the wood,' said Cecil, with that subdued irritation that she had noticed in him all afternoon. 'Why is it, Lucy, that you always say the road? Do you know that you have never once been with me in the fields or the wood since we were engaged?' 'Haven't I? The wood then,' said Lucy, startled at his queerness, but pretty sure that he would explain later; it was not his habit to leave her in doubt as to his meaning. 'I had got an idea - I dare say wrongly - that you feel more at home with me in a room.' 'A room?' she echoed, hopelessly bewildered. 'Yes. Or, at the most, in a garden, or on the road. Never in the real country like this.' ... She reflected a moment, and then said, laughing: 'Do you know that you're right? I do. I must be a poetess after all. When I think of you it's always as in a room. How funny!'" - Cecil Vyse and Lucy Honeychurch (A Room With A View, p. 188)
.
[Regarding her thoughts on meeting up with George Emerson] "How often had Lucy rehearsed this bow, this interview! But she had always rehearsed them indoors, and with certain accessories, which surely we have a right to assume. Who could foretell that she and George would meet in the rout of a civilization, amidst an army of coats and collars and boots that lay wounded over the sunlit earth? She had imagined a young Mr. Emerson, who might be shy or morbid or indifferent or furtively impudent. She was prepared for all of these. But she had never imagined one who would be happy and greet her with the shout of the morning star. Indoors herself, partaking of tea with old Mrs. Butterworth she reflected that it is impossible to foretell the future with any degree of accuracy, that it is impossible to rehearse life. A fault in the scenery, a face in the audience, an irruption of the audience on to the stage, and all our carefully planned gestures mean nothing, or mean too much. "

(A Room With A View, p. 208)
.
[Regarding Charlotte Bartlett and her troublesome boiler] "I can't remember all of Charlotte's worries," said Lucy bitterly. "I shall have enough of my own, now that you are not pleased with Cecil." Mrs. Honeychurch might have flamed out. She did not. She said: 'Come here, old lady - thank you for putting away my bonnet -- kiss me.' And, though nothing is perfect, Lucy felt for the moment that her mother and Windy Corner and the Weald in the declining sun were perfect. So the grittiness went out of life. It generally did at Windy Corner. At the last minutes, when the social machine was clogged hopelessly, one member or other of the family pour in a drop of oil." (A Room With A View, p. 211)

Lucy Honeychurch (played by Helena Bonham Carter in the 1985 version of A Room With A View)

stevie

i woke up singing stevie wonder. its a stevie wonder sort of day. i sang this song in front of the mirror while i did my hair this morning. it made me a little late.




i have also had this song stuck in my head today. it is one of my favorites.




on my happiest days i sing all day long. and at full volume if possible. i have been doing both today. (i save my loud singing for home, outside, and in the car. i think i would shock some people if i started belting out songs while i worked at my desk here at the office... idk maybe i should try it sometime. we'll see.)

as soon as i got to work and settled in i turned on stevie wonder pandora radio and its been keeping me company all day. love it.

midday i took a break to go pick up some free starbucks. free you ask? why yes. yesterday when i was in there with a friend, the power went out and they had to boot us out and lock the doors. to make up for it they said to come back tomorrow (today) and they'd give me a free drink. i was happy to take them up on the offer. i wanted coffee AND a smoothie - so i got both. one free, one bought.

iced grande decaf americano

strawberry banana vivanno smoothie

came back to the office, worked some more and now i'm heading home to soak in the sunshine and read a room with a view. i just started it but already i love it. it immediately gives you the feel that the movie does and is hilarious and very readable.

if you're inside - stop, go outside right now and enjoy the weather, if only for a few minutes. listen to good music, plan fun things to do, drink starbucks and read a good book. today is a happy day.

i am also happy because i've started planning my summer trip to the uk. i'm trying to figure out exactly what that will look like but i am determined to do it! i need a nice long trip and where better than to my favorite place on earth!

oh and even though i'm not personal friends with jeremy current, i am excited about his project and every time i check his kickstarter and see his money raised number has gone up, it makes me excited... and he's raised $350 since yesterday. booyah! keep that up peoples and he'll definitely make it to $6,000!

to end, i will leave you with the most awesome thing i've seen today. happy wednesday!

this & that

sorry that it has been several days since i have posted. the main reason for this is that my macbook friend (chantelle is her name if you must know) has been at the apple store and i have not had her in my company since last friday. as such i have found less inclination to be on the computer as i have had to use the household windows computer... which isn't near as much fun.

in any case, several things have happened over the last few days, none so interesting, but i thought i might as well tell you about them.

no. 1:  my macbook
as i mentioned above, on friday i left my macbook at the apple store to be fixed. it had some cracked plastic along the edges and there was a crack in the top. luckily the apple genius bar attendant was kind enough to mark my screen down for replacement, even though he technically didn't have to. i am grateful for this because the crack in the top of my mac (where this crack came from i don't know) was getting larger and starting to compromise the screen inside. also it was ugly. they were also kind enough to have it set to be shipped back to my home after its fixed. i never go in the direction of south park so this was quite an excitement for me. laugh at me as you like.. i don't like going towards south park.

no. 2:  jane eyre (the movie)
as i had to go to south park to the apple store on friday, mom and i made a little adventure of it and jane eyre happened to be showing at the manor house theatre on providence road, so after dropping my mac off we headed over there for the 2:00 showing. it was SO good. i can't wait until it comes out nationwide (as i hope it will!) so i can go see it again. it was everything i expected and having just finished reading the book that is quite a feat. obviously in a 2 hour movie you can't cover every single part of the story thoroughly, and in this version they chose to mainly focus on the dynamics and relationship between edward rochester (played by michael fassbender) and jane eyre (mia wasikowska).

jane's background and some characters suffered from lack of development, but they captured the heart of the story and the feel of it and as such pleased me greatly. if you were not familiar with the story, i don't think it would have as much depth, but if you have read the story you will love it and it will not suffer for where it fails to portray some things on the screen your memory will fill in the empty bits. i really couldn't have imagined better chemistry between the two main characters - it is exactly how i read it in the book. the only fault i have to lay at  it is that if you are going to be completely accurate to the book, the actors they chose to play rochester and jane are far too beautiful. jane is described as being exceptionally plain and rochester, though fit, as being hard looking and not handsome at all. they did a good job making the actors look plain and hard (each in respect to their characters) but you can as much make a lovely person look truly plain as you can make an ugly person beautiful. it just can't be done. see? they are far too nice looking.

in any case, who ever complained about actors being too pretty. it may stray a slight bit from the book, but it worked well for the movie. so- if you haven't seen it and it is still showing in the theatres - go see it!! it is well worth the money and truly lives up well to the book. i cried in reading the book and i cried during the movie. loved it.

no. 3:  HOP (the movie)
mom and i usually go to the movies on mondays if there's one worth seeing - its sort of a thing of ours- and today we saw HOP. we thoroughly enjoyed it. i love russell brand (who is the voice of the bunny). it was also funny to me that russell brand would be involved in a children's movie and rated PG. his humor was much modified and made appropriate for this film (lol), but still very much enjoyable. if you want a light cheerful and funny eastery movie - go see it. it may not win any awards but it will brighten your afternoon and make you smile.

no. 4:  pride & prejudice
this afternoon i finished pride and prejudice while sitting on the porch enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having. i really enjoyed reading it. i have long enjoyed the 5-hour a&e version of the pride and prejudice (we have it all on VHS.. ha!) and after reading the book i have even more of an appreciation for that version, for it is almost line for line.

last night i enjoyed watching the last 3 episodes of the old version with my mom and dad. it was fun to watch an old family favorite. we're so busy watching and finding new movies to watch sometimes we don't find time to go back and watch old favorites, so it was a special treat. even dad enjoyed it. haha.






soon i want to watch the new version of pride & prejudice as well. i know a lot of people don't like the new version with keira knightley - but not me.. i love it! and i can't wait to watch it again and see how it lives up to the book.

no. 5:  a room with a view

next up i'm going to read a room with a view by e.m. forster. a favorite movie of mine, i am really looking forward to see how the book is. i'll let you know how i like it.











no. 6:  starbucks

i have applied for a second time at starbucks. they are always accepting applications, but i don't think they are hiring at the moment - but i hope that will change! i love working at the church part-time in the morning, but i could use full-time salary. my hope is that i can get a part-time job to work in the afternoon/evening at starbucks working as a barista which won't interfere with my morning work at the church. i love starbucks and i think of all places i would enjoy working there... and the perks and employee discount are always a plus! so pray if they do decide to hire someone that they hire me!




and that's about it. hope you all have a wonderful week! i may or may not post again before my mac is returned to me. we shall see. ta!

moats and boats and waterfalls

hello! the weather is still a bit more brisk than it has been, but the sun is out, the sky is blue, the birds are chirping, a new macbook charger is on its way and today feels much better all around than yesterday.

today i thought i'd mention some new music i've been listening to recently. i have fallen in love with edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros. this is them:

i had heard of them off and on for a while, especially their song "home" (listen to it here), but i hadn't really paid attention. as i've mentioned in an early post, there was a rainy day during my spring break trip to florida during which a group of musical people gathered under the overhang of the porch and played their instruments. amoung the songs played was "home". when i got home i decided to check out the rest of the music by edward sharpe and it was my lucky day because amazon mp3 downloads store had the whole cd on sale for $5. i went ahead and got it and i'm so glad i did. i love it. i especially love the song "home" but the rest are fabulous as well. check them out... you'll be glad you did.

there is also this cute cover of the song done by a father and his daughter. the girl is a little diva, but its still cute. (don't believe me... check out some of their other videos. lol.)




also on a personal note... my best friend mindy is pregnant!!! i'm going to be an auntie! i'm so excited. if you don't already, you can follow her blog here.

i am also about 21 chapters into pride and prejudice (about 1/3 of the way through) and enjoying it. last night i pulled out the old version of p&p on VHS (lol) and watched the first episode. i have so many fond memories of the colin firth/jennifer ehle version. it was so much fun to watch it again. i was going to wait until i finished p&p to watch the movie versions - but i can't wait. i think i'm going to watch the episodes as i read them in the book. i already have an idea for the next book i'm going to read though! i'm going to read e.m. forster's "room with a view". it is one of my favorite movies but i've never even peaked at the novel... so that's next.

well i'm off for a walk with my little dog to take advantage of this beautiful weather before another rainstorm hits later this week! have a great tuesday!

and i'll leave you with this FANTASTIC video. a friend posted it on facebook and it made my day. enjoy!

"choose then sir- her who loves you best." - jane eyre

so every time i have thought about posting i've been overwhelmed at how many things i wanted to post about- so instead of posting about it all at once, i will simply post whatever i remember as it strikes my fancy. today is about books.

a few days ago i finished jane eyre by charlotte bronte. if you have never read this book, change that and read it. this book was amazing from start to finish. as i've mentioned in previous posts, i have read this book before during high school or in some part of my schooling - we read a good number of classics as part of home schooling, both read aloud together and read separately - but i don't remember quite how incredible it was. getting older has probably helped me understand the depth of it as well.

one thing through the entire book that stood out to me was how often they refer to strong christian doctrine. not just nice christian phrases or mentions of prayer, but deep hard truths about God and people and moral responsibility. as i scanned charlotte bronte's biography, i recalled that she was the daughter of a pastor, which made sense why theology and doctrine were so present in the text; but beyond that i thought of how in charlotte bronte's day these truths were something christians knew and referred to on a regular basis. so even apart from really enjoying the excellent writing and storyline, i found myself encouraged by the profound truths about God that charlotte bronte - through the character of jane eyre - applied to the circumstances and occurrences in the book.

along with the quality of the writing i think this book benefits from the large portion of mental dialogue that is constantly going on in jane. i always enjoy books that are written from the main character's perspective and with a lot of the book coming from the position of the character's thoughts as they goes through the circumstances of their life. it gives you a window in the character that mere conversations and narrative aren't able to accomplish. you feel jane's every up and down, the anguish and the exultation, the determination and the weakness. everything that is happening to jane is happening to you as you read it.

now i understand some of you may think "well thats a bit dramatic", but if you have never read a book and felt so close to the character that their emotions start to become your emotions as you read - you are missing out. not all books can do this - but the good ones can. and jane eyre does.

i won't ruin the ending, for those of you who don't know the storyline, but it ends in such a redeeming way that you are left utterly satisfied. i love the last few lines of the book. after jane concludes talking in a contented manner about how her circumstances have ended up she refers to a character who is a missionary and is nearing death. it ends this way:

The last letter I received from him drew from my eyes human tears, and yet filled my heart with Divine joy: he anticipated his sure reward, his incorruptible crown. I know that a stranger's hand will write to me next, to say that the good and faithful servant has been called at length into the joy of his Lord. And why weep for this? No fear of death will darken [the character]'s last hour: his mind will be unclouded; his heart will be undaunted; his hope will be sure; his faith steadfast. His own words are a pledge of this: -- "My Master," he says, "has forewarned me. Daily he announces more distinctly, - 'Surely I come quickly!' and hourly I more eagerly respond, - "Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!'" (Jane Eyre, p. 466) 

when was the last time you read a book which had an ending like that? what more uplifting of an ending is thinking about the joy of heaven! goodness after i finished i wanted to be lifted up with the character right then and there! "amen; even so come, lord jesus!" indeed.

all in all i picked a fantastic novel to start out renewing my love of classics. i am quite sad that my journey with jane eyre is over, but its nice to know that all i have to do is pick up the book and there she is again.

so -- after such an amazing book my thought was, "what next?". i knew that it would be hard to transition from such a powerful book to another storyline, so i picked at random: pride and prejudice by jane austen.

i have never actually read pride and prejudice. i grew up with all the movie versions (yes- the 5 hr one was a favorite!) but haven't ever actually read the entire thing. so i started it and WHOA. what a change from jane eyre. i think i got whiplash. i admit i'm still not completely into it yet. the writing style is so different and the storyline is so light and in some ways very trivial that i was discontented with it. but its a pleasant enough read and i'm persevering. i'm more into it than i was at the beginning and i'm sure it will get better as the plot gets more complicated later in the story. for now there is just a good bit of simpering females and basic plot layout. i shall keep you updated on my progress.






after such a long and serious post - here's a little light enjoyment.

jane eyre, p. 108-109

i could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes. then my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third story, backwards and forwards, safe in the silence and solitude of the spot, and allow my mind's eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it -- and, certainly, they were many and glowing;  to let my heart be heaved by the exultant movement, which, while it swelled in in trouble, expanded it with life; and, best of all, to open my inward ear to a tale that was never ended -- a tale my imagination created, and narrated continuously; quickened with all my incident, life, fire, feeling, that i desired and had not in my actual existence.

it is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a constraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creations to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. it is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.

february reading: jane eyre

boooooks. love them. unfortunately as i've gotten older television and movies have taken their place the majority of the time. tv and film has a place but it definitely cannot replace books. books stimulate the imagination, grow your vocabulary, and refresh you in a way that watching something never can.

so going along with goal no. 2 of reading more classic novels i have decided this month i'm going to read this book:

jane eyre by charlotte bronte

i'm sure i read this in the course of high school and its always been a favorite story of mine but its been a while since i've read it.

it also works out well because the new movie version of jane eyre is coming out in a month, so hopefully i can finish reading this before i go see the movie.

if you would like to join me in reading it, you are more than welcome.

















jane eyre is a classic that has been re-done (movie-wise) many many times. just check out the list of different jane eyre's on imdb (click here). but amidst all those different listings there are several that are my favorites. check them out.

jane eyre (1943)

first there is the 1943 version with orson welles and joan fontaine. this one is just a classic.

click here to watch the trailer.

jane eyre (1983)

then there's the jeremy dalton bbc version. classic bbc.

click here to watch the trailer.

jane eyre (1996)

this version is one of the main ones i remember growing up. it was a favorite.

click here to watch the trailer.

jane eyre (1997)

a&e's version. i can't remember this one majorly but i know i've seen it and liked it.

jane eyre (2006)

and most recently was the masterpiece theatre version which was excellent. i love toby stephens. i was not familiar with the actress ruth wilson who played jane eyre, but she was one of my most favorite jane eyres to date.














so after all these wonderful versions i'm eager to see how the new one matches up. march 11th can't come soon enough!

jane eyre (2011)

click here for the trailer and clips and head on over to the official jane eyre movie website for more details.

love it when they make new versions of classics... 29 days to go! man looking at all these movie versions of jane eyre makes me excited to go back and read the original story. i'll keep you updated on my progress. lets see if i can get this read by march 11. doubt it'll happen but we can hope!

thanks for reading!


listening to: 

blackout: britney spears

(sad i know but i listened to this the whole time i created this post. lol. i actually adore britney spears newer music... i highly underrate her in my mind until i actually listen to her. ha.)