What I Loved This Week

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week. Once again, I have compiled some of my favorite blog posts and YouTube videos that I've read/watched this week. I will note, some of these were published before this week, but I just hadn't had a chance to read or watch them until now.

In the Blogosphere:

- Brittany of Pines and Palmettos challenges what we consider praise here.

- Over at The Write Practice, they shared why fairy tales never grow old.

- Elizabeth over at Oak & Oats is still killing it with her Instagram photography series! This week the topic is perspective. 

- Erica Jaquline wrote a BEAUTIFUL piece on kindness on Wednesday. I know this is a topic I've been thinking about the last few years, and this past week (thanks to seeing Cinderella) and she captured it wonderfully. You can read it here.

- Then Taylor, over at The Daily Tay, has another fantastic post! This week she talked about explaining Bloggers on Instagram to Non-Bloggers on Instagram, and it's hilarious and right on point! #thestruggleisreal

- Everyone must have gone to see Cinderella because they're all talking about kindness! Amber from Mr. Thomas and Me also wrote her take on the topic, here.

On the YouTubes:

- In case you haven't heard, the author Terry Pratchett recently passed away. If you are interested in reading his work, Kirsti, of A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings, made a video of her recommendations of where to get started. You can watch it by clicking here.

- If you're a book nerd, you'll love this video from Carrie Hope Fletcher! If you didn't know, she's coming out with a book this year. (Available in the UK in April, here in the USA in August.) She was able to go see how her book was being printed and it's just so awesome!

- Since starting to play the ukulele, I've been watching more and more videos of people playing theirs and finding fun covers of songs. I LOVE this mash-up of pop songs from Doddleoddle.

- Did you hear that I love Glee, I LOVE Darren Criss, and Glee is ending tonight? Yeah. Those little things I talk about ALL THE TIME? Well, Darren Criss (my future husband) wrote a song for the final episode and talked about it in this interview. Basically, I will die of weeping tonight.

- The Snark Squad ladies have been doing vlogs this year and it's fabulous. This week they talked about guilty pleasures and it was perfect.

- Do you love fancy Italian food? (AKA - fancy Mac n Cheese?) Watch this. 

AND the Paper Towns trailer was released this week! I enjoyed the book, although not as much as The Fault in Our Stars. I kind of wonder if I'll enjoy the movie more though. You can watch the trailer below:

And Christine from polandbananasBOOKS did a discussion on the trailer.

2014 Book Wrap Up

And another Christmas has come and gone. The gifts are unwrapped, the feast was eaten, the movies watched, and the carols sung. Technically, yesterday was only the start of the 12 days of Christmas. Today is two turtle doves. Tomorrow I'm going to Indiana to see my family and have another small Christmas gathering. So, at least there's that. But, the day after Christmas I can't help but feel a small loss at how quickly the season passed.

Now, we move onto looking toward 2015. Which means... it's time for me to look back at all of the books I read in 2014! It's End of Year Book Wrap Up Time!

Last year I tried to make this a link up - but I failed horribly and something got all messed up with the link stuff. Boo. Besides, a lot of bloggers I follow have already done their book wrap ups for the year. However, if you haven't done one yet, feel free to use my questions and let me know in the comments if you posted your answers on your blog! I'd love to read them!

I was also going to make this as a video. But, after making videos for 25 days straight I just don't have the heart to do it. Maybe in a couple of days I'll post a video to YouTube.

Anyways. Onto the wrap up!

And if you aren't much of a reader - feel free to adapt this survey for movies, TV shows, music, etc.

1) How many books have you read this year?

My goal for 2014 was to read 60 books and I read 72!!!!!! 

72!

That's just crazy.

2) What book surprised you the most?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I had heard from a lot of people this book was amazing. That it was SO GOOD! But I didn't know anything about it. I couldn't find out what the heck this book was about! The only thing I kept hearing was how amazing it was. So... I picked it up from the library with my doubts.

YOU GUYS THIS BOOK.

And I'm going to do to you what everyone else did to me and not tell you anything about it.

Just... trust me on this one. Part of the amazingness of this book is the fact you don't know anything. I ended up finishing half of this book all at once and staying up far too late one night until I got to the end and sat up in my bed all "OMG WHAT DID I JUST READ?"

It's fabulous. Trust me.

3) What book were you the most disappointed in?

The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen. One of my favorite authors, Erin Morgenstern, had reviewed this book on her blog and had a quote about it on the cover. I've never seen her put any reviews on her blog ever and this was one GLOWING. Naturally, I had to pick it up.

So diaspointing. The writing style was very sweet, mysterious, and lyrical. It made sense why Erin Morgenstern liked it because it slightly reminded me of her. The characters were also very sweet.

But nothing happened. I kept waiting for something to happen - and it never did.

4) Did you start any new series?

Naturally! What's a year of reading 72 books without starting up any new series?

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner*
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher*
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences by Pip Ballentine and Tee Morris*
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas*
Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy Laini Taylor*
Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews
Lux by Jennifer L Armentraut*
Magnificent Devices by Shelly Adina
Queen Elinor of Aquitaine Trilogy by Elizabeth Chadwick*
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
French Twist by Sandra Byrd
The Maledection Trilogy by Danielle L Jenson
Finishing School by Gail Carriger
Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Allie's War by JC Andrijeski
V by Joanna Wiebe
Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess

* = favorites

5) Did you finish any series?

But of course! Some of them I had even started and completed in 2014.

His Fair Assassin Trilogy by Robin LaFevers
Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor
Anna and the French Kiss Trilogy by Stephanie Perkins
The Maze Runner series by James Dashner
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

6) What was your favorite book cover this year?

I wasn't completely blown away by book covers this year. There were some good ones, but not a whole lot where I looked at them and was like "wow - that's gorgeous." That being said, I do love the cover of the book I'm reading now, Winterspell by Claire Legrand. The picture below doesn't do it justice. It's all shiny and wintery. Then, the actual cover cover (not just the book jacket) is this beautiful winter white with ice blue lettering. So pretty!

7) What was the best non-fiction book you read?

I only read three non-fiction books this year and all were so different from each other, but also so fantastic. Never Have I Ever... My Life So Far Without a Date  by Katie Heaney, Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, and Choose Your Own Autobiography  by Neil Patrick Harris. All three were so fantastic!

Never Have I Ever was hilarious and so relateable. I swear, the author of this book has been stalking me because our love lives (or in our cases... non existent love lives) are basically the same thing. Right down to being in Jr. High loving JTT but dumping him for Justin Timberlake when NSYNC rolled around.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a book chronicling the lives of people in a slum of India. If you have a passion for learning about the world, social justice, and wanting to truly help people, you need to read this book. It's so eye opening and truly reveals what it's really like for the people in these areas and gives you a better understanding of the corruption and how complicated things truly are.

Choose Your Own Autobiography was hilarious. I loved the fake endings NPH would have for different parts of his life, and learning about who he is and how he got to be where he is now. But he also includes photos (or audio clips of him as a kid and such if you have the audio book), recipes, and magic tricks!

8) What are you currently reading?

Right now I'm working on Winter Spell by ... and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I'm also working on re-reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green for my Facebook book club!

9) Any reading goals for 2015?

I'm going to shoot for 70. I know I read 72 this year, but I also know my schedule changes like crazy and if I get another job in 2015 it'll change again. So I want to keep up with what I've already done.

I also found this reading challenge on Pinterest for 2015 and I think it would be fun to tackle it!

10) What books are you looking forward to in 2014?

I honestly don't know. I looked up books being released in 2014 and there weren't a whole lot I was really excited about. But I am OUTRAGEOUSLY excited for Winter and Fairest by Marissa Meyer. It's the conclusion of The Lunar Chronicles and they are so good! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

11) What books deserve a shout out?

These are all of the books on Goodreads I gave five stars to and haven't mentioned yet that I just had to share because they're all so wonderful!

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Series by Pip Ballentine and Tee Morris
AD 30 by Ted Dekker
We Were Liars by E Lockhart
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Giver by Lowis Lowry
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Cress by Marissa Meyer

12) Your top 5 books of 2014. 

Gah! Why is this always so hard? I had to expand it to five books this year because I kept changing my mind and couldn't narrow it down to only five. Even now I'm looking back at other books all "But that one was so good too!" But I can't go beyond five books because then I'll just never stop!

How I Paid for College by Marc Acito

If you've been around these parts for awhile you know I've been talking about this book all year. It's just so hilarious and fun and clever. The main character, Edward Zanini is basically if Ferris Bueller and Rachel Berry got together and had a love child. JUST IMAGINE THAT.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

This really is a shout out for the entire His Fair Assassin Trilogy but this really was the perfect conclusion to the trilogy. I found I could relate to Annith the most out of all of the girls and I loved her journey.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

As always, Rainbow Rowell's stories are so stinking cute! This was her first novel before she got crazy popular and I swear it is one of my favorites by her. The best way I can describe it is Sleepless in Seattle BUT CUTER and less creepy, but then add some quarter life crisis and self discovery in there. I loved it! 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Dare I say it? I enjoyed The Infernal Devices more than The Mortal Instruments. Not that I don't like TMI, I do. But I feel like this spin off trilogy was so much more well done. It's also what got me interested in TMI in the first place because I had seen these books on the shelves but when I saw they were prequels to another series I decided to hold off until I was caught up. So good! This was a fantastic conclusion and one of my favorite parts of City of Heavenly Fire was seeing the characters from this trilogy pop up. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

I read the whole trilogy this year and there was no way I could only pick one. It's so unique and beautifully written and there's these wonderful and fantastic characters and creatures and world... it's beautiful. I can't say much at all without spoiling things because letting it all unfold is part of what's so awesome about this trilogy. So all I can say is you need to go read it if you haven't yet.

Uuuuuugggggg Monday

Weekends go by far too quickly in my opinion. Don't you agree? Mine was wonderful and relaxing, hanging out with my family in Indiana. But it went by way too fast and here I am, Sunday night, squeezing in scheduling my Music Monday post for tomorrow (or today since you're reading this on Monday) before I have to leave for rehearsal because I know I won't have time before work tomorrow morning.

Yeah, Monday morning is already here. Isn't that crazy?

So, I'm trying to think of some sort of music to help with a case of the Mondays.

Ah, here we go. Ever since the soundtrack to The Fault in Our Stars came out I've been obsessed. I re-watched the movie yesterday and was reminded just how awesome the soundtrack is. This one puts a smile on my face every single time.

Just pretend it's not from a movie that makes you cry ugly tears.

Link up and share your favorite music!

Life Update Friday

As I promised yesterday in my video here is a quick life update for all of you who are tired of me talking about NaNoWriMo!

- Tomorrow my family is celebrating my grandpa's 90th birthday! 90 - that's crazy and totally awesome! I'm really excited to see everyone over the weekend and celebrate. We saw most of them for my sister's wedding, but with all of the preparations and craziness we didn't actually get to have a whole lot of quality time with them. So, this will be nice.

- I'm in a madrigal group! (Not magical, madrigal.) For those who aren't total nerds like me, it's a renaissance singing group. We get to dress up in costumes and sing old songs and talk about boars heads, figgy pudding, and wassail. I did it in high school and it was so much fun, and when a friend told me there was a group putting one together for Christmas, I was really excited. We've had about three rehearsals so far, every week on Sunday night, and I've liked it a lot. I'm still getting to know the people, but they seem pretty awesome. I love my director - he really knows his stuff- and he's a ton of fun. Even if he took my David Tennant phone background for Matt Smith. I definitely need to work on memorizing my music though.

- I also am starting a new job on Monday! It's only temporary through the middle of January. BUT, it's for a pretty big company, I'll get paid well, have a lot of hours, and if they'll keep their best people on full time after January. Which would mean actual salary and benefits. The job itself is answering phones for customer service, but I'm still excited. For now I'm still at the preschool though in the mornings because I don't want to give up a permanent thing for a temporary job.

- I feel like everyone is having babies. At least two of my friends have had babies this week. It's crazy. Really happy and awesome! But crazy too. But don't tell my sister, she's already ready to have one.

- It's snowing right now. There's only a dusting on the ground, but still. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Discuss.

- I heard Matthew Morrison (Mr. Shue on Glee) is going to be taking over the role of JM Barrie on Broadway's premiere of Finding Neverland, replacing Jeremy Jordan (the guy who played Jack in Newsies on Broadway and was Jimmy on Smash and will be in The Last 5 Years with Anna Kendrick coming up) who I LOVE. I love both actors but I'm super torn because I LOVE Jeremy Jordan. I know the rest of you don't care but I do.

- Recently I listened to Neil Patrick Harris' Choose Your Own Autobiography and it was every bit as awesome as it sounds. I'm also currently reading Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers. It's the final book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy and I'm outrageously excited.

- My Facebook book club, The Book Worms, is currently reading The Circle by Dave Eggars. OMG it's crazy! You need to get in on this. If not, next month we're reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. If anything, you should join so you can watch videos of me talking about all of my feels about books.

- Kirstie and I are back at it with vlogging! Remember in August how I do Vlog Every Day August? (VEDA.) Well, now we're hosting Vlogmas. Basically, you vlog everyday December 1-24 leading up to Christmas. We (as in mainly Kirstie and I've been giving my two cents here and there) have been brainstorming topic ideas. Once the sign up is ready I'll let you all know. I think personally I'm going to do a weird hybrid of Vlogmas/Letters to Advent. When it gets closer I'll explain more.

I feel like this post needs a picture. Because every good blogger has pictures, right? Right. Here's me jamming on my uke. Cause you know... this is exactly how I look when I sing and play...

So... how is everyone today? Doing anything fun and exciting this weekend? Tell me about your lives!

Authors I Want to Be My Mentors

The author Stephen King once said "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." (Source)
I haven't read much of Stephen King. As in... I've never read any of his books. I'm way too much of a wuss to even try to pick up The Shinning or anything else like that. (Although, the Facebook book club I'm starting is reading his book Firestarter as our first one. Eek! If you want to be a part of it, click here to join the group.) However, I do respect him as an author because he has written so many novels and short stories. Many of which are best sellers and have inspired others to create movies, TV shows, and pursue their own stories. So, when I hear his words of wisdom when it comes to writing, I listen. 

I particularly agree with this statement about reading. (As does JK Rowling actually.) If you want to write well, you need to read. Granted, you probably don't need to read a kazillion books a year or anything. But you do need to read. Good books, bad books, books in the genre you write about, books outside of that genre, etc. If you don't read, how are you going to learn more about your craft? How are you going to know good writing when you see it?

No matter what your craft or talent is, you most likely have people you look up to. If you play basketball you probably look up to people like Michael Jordan. (Or whoever is popular these days. I don't know sports.) If you are a musician you listen to other musicians. If you're an artist you learn about other artists. I think you get my drift by now.

The same goes for writing. Whether you write fiction, poetry, blogs, etc. you need to read. Read something - anything. Because that's how you learn.

I was thinking about the authors I admire. Not just my favorite books, but authors who I truly look up to. The ones when I read their books I sit in awe of how they paint pictures with their words and form unforgettable characters and stories which sweep me off my feet. These are the authors who I would want to mentor me in my own writing.

Naturally, I went to social media to find out which authors my other "writer type" of friends look up to. They had a variety of different authors they shared with me. Eric Metaxas, Stephen King, Nora Roberts, Jane Austen, the apostle Paul, Jeanette Winterson, Margaret Atwood, Aaron Allston, Mercedes Lackey, Virgina Wolf, John Green, Neil Gaiman, Gail Simone, Douglas Adams, etc.

All of these are different from the others, but all have something to add to the writing community.

If I were to pick any authors to be my mentors, here's who I would pick.

Elizabeth Chadwick
The Greatest Knight, Lady of the English, Summer Queen, etc.

“Weep now, but tomorrow be strong. Remember who we are and that whatever else is taken from us, they will never strip our honour and our pride.” 
― Elizabeth Chadwick, To Defy a King

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The way she can take true events and people from history and turn them into novels is amazing. I would love to find out how she does all of her research, how she organizes it, and the process she has for creating a story. Yes, some of her methods are... unusual. (I think I heard she goes to psychics or something.) However, she's undeniably a fantastic author.

John Green
The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines

“Writing, or at least good writing, is an outgrowth of that urge to use language to communicate complex ideas and experiences between people. And that’s true whether you’re reading Shakespeare or bad vampire fiction—reading is always an act of empathy. It’s always an imagining of what it’s like to be someone else.” 

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I'll be honest, The Fault in our Stars is my favorite book by him, I've only read two other ones. They were good, don't get me wrong. But I wasn't blown away the way I was with TFioS. However, I do love his videos and I love how real his stories are. Especially TFioS. He has this awesome way of writing stories for young adults which also connect to adults.

Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere, American Gods, Stardust, Coraline

"The moment that you feel that just possibly you are walking down the street naked...that's the moment you may be starting to get it right."

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I've only read two of his books so far, but I have all of them on my "to read" list and I cant wait to dig into them. He creates this beautifully "ordinary" characters and puts them in unreal situations which almost seem normal. I've been blown away by how he puts pieces together for a story and the sense of humor and ridiculousness in his novels. Whenever I've read quotes by him about art and writing and life they resonate with me and I find myself agreeing. I would love to hear him talk about writing, but about life as well. Also - he's written episodes for Doctor Who.

Anne Rice
The Vampire Chronicles

"To write something, you have to risk making a fool of yourself."

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She is the queen of vampires and the supernatural. She wrote about vampires before it was cool! I'm always entranced when I read The Vampire Chronicles. Her ideas are controversial, powerful, and unique. I love her characters and I find myself wanting to read more about Lestat partly because I still don't 100% understand him, he's so in depth. Also, she does a fantastic job of  connecting with her fans. (AKA- "people of the page.") She's always updating her Facebook page and discussing issues of the world with her fans, and when she's unavailable she makes sure her assistant (Becket) updates for her and lets everyone know who is the one writing. 

JK Rowling
The Harry Potter Series, The Casual Vacancy, The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm

“I didn’t write with a target audience in mind. What excited me was how much I would enjoy writing about Harry. I never thought about writing for children — children’s books chose me. I think if it is a good book anyone will read it.”

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Let's be honest - she's fantastic. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone she's on my list. Harry Potter has some of the greatest storytelling and most memorable characters of this age. She's able to create a beautiful fantasy world and story, while also discussing intense issues like prejudice, justice, family, depression, love, and friendship, in a way anyone of any age can connect and learn from. But even beyond Harry Potter, she's great. The Casual Vacancy may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the characters were still wonderfully made and the story was written well. I haven't read either The Cuckoo's Calling  or The Silkworm yet, but I've heard great things and I'm excited to read them. And she did it while not even using her own name. Yes, the books probably sold a lot more once it leaked she was the author. However, from what I've heard The Cuckoo's Calling did just fine before then.

Rainbow Rowell

Attachments, Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, Landline

"I find love stories satisfying when you can see the work - when you can really watch people find each other and fall in love, a little bit at a time. I like slow burns. Falling in love is so good; why would you want to rush it?"

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She has become more of a recent hit- but I think we'll be seeing more of her as the years go on. Her characters and stories feel so real. It's as though these are people I would see walking around my neighborhood, on campus, and at the store. Also - her twitter is hilarious and I feel like we would laugh a lot AND Fangirl was a NaNoWriMo novel.

Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus

"I think that's a hallmark of a really good story that it has readers that it speaks to more than others."

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Another NaNoWriMo author and the author of one of my all time favorite books. She's a creator of fairy tales and magic and wonder and love. Nearly everything I love in the world is in her book and I can't wait for her to write another. 

Then again... maybe I wouldn't have them mentor me. I'd be too afraid to show them anything I write for fear of them hating it! (haha.) If you could pick any writers (or someone in your field) to mentor you, who would you pick?

Monday/Tuesday Bout of Books Update
Total number of books I've read: 1
Total number of pages I've read: 164
Books: Completed American Gods and began Anna Dressed in Blood

5 Tear Jerking Movies

I tend to get pretty emotional when it comes to books, movies, and TV shows. While I know in my head the characters and stories aren't technically "real", for some reason my emotions don't agree. There's something strange about how I handle these emotions though.

I rarely ever actually cry.

I feel the emotion of crying. Or I'll come super super close to crying. But it's pretty rare when real tears come out of my eyes. I don't know why. I think there's probably something wrong with me because my heart could be breaking and I might feel as though I'll never be happy again. But no tears. It's strange, I know.

Many times I'll post on Facebook or Twitter or something that I'm crying during a TV show, movie, or book simply because it's easier to say that than "If I was capable of crying I would be right now." It's just too hard to explain without people thinking I'm a heartless cow. Because... I'm not. I'm super emotional when it comes to my fictional characters.

It has happened from time to time (like the finale of Boy Meets World or the memorial episode of Glee for Cory and when I read The Hunger Games Trilogy), and I have been more recently for some reason. (A side effect of getting older maybe?) Yet, real tears are still pretty rare.

So, when talking about books, movies, and TV shows which made me cry, I probably didn't actually cry. Just assume I'm feeling the same emotions as other "normal" emotional people when they read/watch these things.

In case you ever feel like sitting down to watch a movie and really want to be super sad and emotional and tear-eyed... here are some suggestions:

First- we all know you'll never be happy again during The Fault in Our Stars. I mean, my friend Laura went to see it and they were freaking handing out tissues at the theatre. We all know you'll bawl your eyes out during TFioS.

Moving on.

Because when you have the opportunity to use Dawson crying... you take it.

About Time

I don't know what it is about this movie, but when my friend Maria and I went to see it we were an emotional mess. She had legit tears running down her cheeks when we watched it. But I love this movie. Everything about it.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series and I'm currently on Goblet of Fire, so it's on my mind. But seriously, I can't handle this ending. When I first read this book when I was in high school I remember sitting on my bed in shock because I couldn't comprehend what had just happened. I was SO SAD. You have to understand, when this series came out, GOF was the game changer. Which is why I chose this one over Deathly Hallows Part 2. Because... obviously that one you cry during that one.

Once you read the ending  of GOF you knew nothing was going to be the same at Hogwarts. No one had actually really died during the book before. Then watching the movie, it is so heart-wrenching to see Cedric's dad and Harry... UGH. It's so awful.

Les Miserables

I remember being in high school and my band director telling us that if you didn't cry at the end of the musical Les Miserables you didn't have a heart. Guys- it's so true. Heck, ever since I fell in love with the music when I was 17, I can barely listen to Do You Hear the People Sing? without wanting to bawl my eyes out. Part of it is because it's sad. (Hello! It's literally called "The Misery.") But also because the messages and themes are so powerful and at times even hopeful. You can totally be crying out of sadness and hope at the same time. It's awesome.

You know... cause apparently crying is awesome.

Saving Mr. Banks

You will never watch Mary Poppins the same way ever again after watching this movie. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Frozen

I know... I know... I'm one of the few people in the world who isn't sick and tired of this movie. But, I really do get emotional during Frozen. I love the dynamics between the sisters and the back story is so sad and with Elsa... I feel those feels. Even just listening to "Let it Go" I sometimes get misty eyed. Also, I watched this movie with my friend Maria again. I think there's something about us watching movies together which makes us both want to cry.

This is essentially Maria and I when we watch movies.

And as a special bonus movie in case you really want the tears to flow....

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

This was the first movie I actually had real tears while sitting in the movie theater so I felt like it deserved a special shout out. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a huge part of my high school experience. All of us would wait eagerly for the next movie to come out and we'd go multiple times and we were so attached to the characters and the story. Everything wrapping up in the last movie and all they had to go through... it really got to me.

So, confession time. What movies make you grab the tissue box?

Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate all of the fantastic crying GIFs Glee has given to the Internet?

Today's Blog Everyday in July Topic: 5 Tear-Jerking Movies. Link up here.

I'm also linking up with Mingle Monday!

IT'S HERE

The Fault in our Stars movie trailor. It has arrived!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love John Green, his brother Hank, and basically all things about Nerdfigteria. I was introducted to them last year and ever since I can't get enough of John and Hank Green. (AKA - The Vlog Brothers.) I read The Fault in our Stars in November of 2012 and then again in early 2013. It's beautiful and sad and wonderful all at the same time. So, naturally, as they've been working on the movie I followed John Green's social media accounts for information about the movie like the pro-internet stalker that I am.

Yesterday, was the premier of the movie trailor. Here it is!

I thought it was fantastic and perfect! From what I can tell - so did the rest of the internet. 

What did you all think? Is anyone willing to go to the theatre with me when it comes out and not judge when I start to weep?

I Have Resolutions and Goals... I Think. Maybe?

Quick note: If you are on Instagram, you should follow @TheBlogBaton tomorrow because I'll be posting from there all day! The Blog Baton is an Instagram account where everyday a different blogger gets to take over and post photos all day long, and tomorrow is my turn!

Moving on.

Happy New Year!

It's 2014! How crazy is that? I feel as though I say this about every day and holiday, but I'm always amazed at how quickly these things come around. Wasn't I just writing for January 1 in 2013? No? That was already a year ago? Where have I been? Goodness gracious.

Like last year, I'm avoiding New Years Resolutions. I don't want to make promises to myself that I can't keep or don't want to keep. I don't want to be another New Year cliche.

Yet, still like last year, I can't help but think about what I want to accomplish in the next twelve months. This year is the start of something new. I'm no longer in Missouri, I'm not in youth ministry anymore, everything is wide open for me. As cliche as it probably sounds, one of the reasons why I loved timing this transition over Christmas was because I could time my starting over with the New Year.

Because if life can't be like a movie or a book, you can still do what you can to make it appear to be so, right?

So, here I am. New year. New life. Open doors ready for me to walk through, even if I don't know what they'll be leading to.

It makes me feel like I should be making goals of where I want to go in my career and making big life choices, but I just don't want to.

Why should I limit myself? I might make these huge plans and set lofty goals when God has something completely different in mind. You know that typical Christian phrase... "Want to hear God laugh? Tell him your plans."

There are some things I want to do, obviously. Find a job, eventually get my own place so I"m not with Mom and Dad forever, finish my NaNoWriMo novel and revise it a million times so I can send out query letters, travel somewhere new, get back to doing yoga (for real this time!) etc. I do have goals, I guess. But honestly, I just want to let things happen. See where God and life takes me.

Although... I'm pretty sure these are some things that will be happening in 2014:

- Watching hours of Supernatural on Netflix... along with all of the other TV shows

- Spending quality time with my favorite power trio: Harry, Ron, and Hermione

- Taking my family and friends to see Newsies when it travels to Chicago in December

- Spending far too much money at Starbucks and being sure the baristas who work at the store wherever I end up living know my name

- Blogging. Lots of blogging.

- Cuddle time with Bandit

- Crying over movies like Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and Mockingjay

- Reading ALL OF THE BOOKS

- Participating in NaNoWriMo in November for the 7th time

- Being my sister's maid of honor for her wedding in September (and all of the wedding planning that goes along with it!)

- Wasting hours on Tumblr and other forms of social media

- Squealing like the fangirl I am over Emma Approved

- And of course, catching up with friends in Chicago while keeping in touch with those in Missouri

Here's to 2014!

What are your plans/goals?