Day 8.

Day 8: A photo of something you ate today.

Um...why??? That's so boring... But if "they" insist...

Behold, some of today's sustenance. We had to sing for a funeral at church and stayed for the lunch, and they served ham!

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I've had this black bag for my dance stuff for a while now. While I really like it (I especially appreciate all the compartments!), the plain blackness of it just begged for a little teeny bit of sprucing up.

I also have had an owl iron-on decoration thingy hanging around for years which I bought because I LOVE OWLS. And that was the perfect place for it to find a home!

Hopefully the zipper pull will hold up, because I really love how it turned out! The original pull has actually been missing since sometime in January (I only got around to replacing it now...), and I just hope that this one doesn't fall off or fall apart. It was pretty fun to make, although I was holding my breath almost the entire time. I always find making things like that to be rather stressful, which probably explains why I almost never do it. A little British flag charm has been floating around my house and purses for months ever since it fell off my messenger bag, and of course now that I have a place to put it, it's nowhere to be found. I really hope it turns up soon, because it would add the finishing touch!

I just really hope it doesn't start shedding rhinestones...that would make me very sad.

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And I just had to share this awesomely bizarre little statue with you all. I don't even know where I found it, but itsn't adorable and whimiscal and just a little creepy?

Day 7 / blog party!

Day 7: Five things you couldn't possibly live without.

Uh oh. This is always a super hard list to make. I'm never sure whether to make them profound...or superficial...or material things...or spiritual things...or what. So I shall just try to not overthink it and just write what comes to mind.

1. God. That's kind of a given, because quite literally we can't live without Him!

2. Music. There's just NO WAY on earth I could survive without it!

3. Dancing, singing, writing, and performing. There isn't any way I could stop...if I did, a huge part of me would be gone. (Was that cheating, listing four things under one number? Oh well...)

4. My family.

5. Earrings. I love earrings, and it feels freakishly weird if I'm not wearing any.

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So, there is this completely awesome blog called horsefeathers, and Olivia is throwing a giveaway/blog party in honor of having 500 followers! Here is my participation in the party...

Favorite season, and why? That would be a toss-up between spring and fall, with fall a little bit in the lead. Much as I love spring...the world feels new, like spring has never happened before...it just doens't last too long where I live. Fall, on the other hand, is long and breathtaking and blood-quickening and beautiful.

How would you describe your personal style? Hmmm...my personal style has been evolving a lot lately, and currently it's a little bit vintage, a little bit sporty, a lot comfortable, and very me, since I primarily shop at thrift stores.

What's one weird thing you can do? (The stranger the better!) I can do a pretty sweet imitation of Gollum's "gollum" noise. I can also pop my shoulder blades out, and I'm really flexible, which seems normal to me since I dance, but it sometimes freaks people out!

Rain or shine? I gotta say shine. The rain is beautiful, but there is not much in this world that can make me happier than sunlight.

Favorite music? I listen to everything from Faure to the Black-Eyed Peas, including, but not limited to, Simon and Garfunkel, Adele, Coldplay, Journey, Vanessa Carlton, Rene Aubry, The Fray, Feist, Blue October, Keane, Linkin Park, Nelly Furtado, and basically anything musical theater.

Classical music: love it or hate it? LOVE! I've always enjoyed it, but only lately have I become more open about it and started listening to it more again, especially while I'm doing schoolwork. Some of my favorite composers are Debussy, Faure, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Chopin, and I also absolutely love all sorts of choral music.

Phobias? I used to have a zillion phobias, but they've been fading away. Now I'm mainly just afraid of needles...still. heheh. But you know what's worse than needles? IVs. Oh my goodness. *shudders* That's why I'm not having complete anesthetic when I get my teeth pulled...but I'll need to get shots nonetheless, of course. Time for my macho man act! *flexes muscles* Regular needles make me kinda nervous too, ever since my friend told me the story of a needle, laying on a bed...and her climbing into bed, completely unsuspecting...and the needle burrowing under her skin. Ugh. You're welcome...now you're probably scared of them too!

Hop on a plane and go live somewhere for a year...where is it, and why? Somewhere in England because I am an Anglophile (plus, I already speak the language!).

Are you an extrovert or an introvert? I'm definitely an extrovert. I used to think I was introverted, but...I'm not.

Would you/do you perform on stage? Heck yes! Whenever I possibly can...I can't live without it.

Day 6.

Day 6: A moment you wish you could relive.

Actually, I have a lot of those. Not all of them are captured on film, either. But this moment is definitely up there in places in my own life I would return to if I had a time machine.

"Masquerade" in our production of Phantom of the Opera! I'm in the red dress in the front (my favorite costume ever.)

That was definitely my favorite scene. Being in it was a sort of dream of mine ever since I watched Phantom of the Opera for the first time, and it was one that I never though would be fulfilled so soon! It was just so, so much fun to be in (even though the first sopranos - which I am - had some ridiculously high notes)...I love the music, it was absolutely full of dancing, and the entire scene was so exciting and full of energy, since everyone in the entire show was in it. The end of Masquerade in our very last show was such a sad moment for me!

Day 5.

Day 5: A favorite quote.

Okay, I really have about ten zillion million favorite quotes, but for the purposes of this post I'll go with one that has a been a top favorite of mine for a long time.

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." - Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring

Some people like to make fun of me about this (let's just say that I'm a bit lacking in the height department...), but that is NOT the reason it's one of my favorite quotes. I like it so much because I really believe that it's true...when you think about the way everything you do is going to have an impact right until the end of the world, it's absolutely amazing. And that is the way the world is changed - by the things that all the ordinary people do, and if they do enough of them they become extraordinary and so does the world. That is an incredibly inspiring thought.

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Lately I've been re-exploring my love of classical music. That was about all we listened to when I was growing up, so for a while I was sick of it and took a break, but in the past few years I've been rediscovering it and realizing that so much of it is so interesting and beautiful. I'll really never understand why so many people dismiss all classical music as being "boring". Sure, some songs can be pretty mind-numbingly dull, but the same goes for some songs from every genre. I got these boxed sets of CDs of classical music from the library a couple of weeks ago (actually...they're overdue...) and I've been enjoying them a lot, especially the ballet music CD. Yes, I am one of those geeks who will be at ballet class and hear a song and go, "Oh, that's "Masks" from Romeo and Juliet! I love that song!" But Prokofiev's score for Romeo and Juliet is so beautiful...I love the first few seconds of the Introduction, and the Dance of the Knights.

I'm also one of those odd people who loves classical music and also enjoys rap now and again. Really, country is the only kind of music I cannot stand (and I actually do like a lot of Lady Antebellum's music).

To sum it up...

I <3 music!

Day 4.

Day 4: A favorite TV show.

I actually really don't watch TV (I don't follow any shows since we don't have a converter box thingy on the downstairs TV, and therefore the only times I watch shows are when I get them from the library, which is pretty seldom), so this is actually almost the only show I ever watch. But I love it. :D

We're waiting for Season 8 to come from the library...the last season. Nooooooo...

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This is really random, but I love how, when you leave a comment on a blog, it says "Choose your indentity". It makes me feel like I'm Jason Bourne or something...

Day 3.

Day 3: A favorite book.

This is one of my absolute favorite books, and unfortunately it's also the only good book Philip Pullman ever wrote, IMO. The other two books in the trilogy are just junk and I've heard so many bad things about "His Dark Materials" that I don't plan to read them. But this...this book is amazing!

I loved the story, really enjoyed the writing style, found the characters likeable and believable, and the fact that a book is set in England will almost always endear it to me. So if you like books that are exciting, interesting, fast-paced, and have a certain British/steampunk-y flavor to them, I think you would like it!

I will never forgive him for ruining everyone in the subsequent books, however...

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I had two cups of full-strength coffee this morning. I CANNOT HOLD MY CAFFEINE. Drinking an excess (well, for me two cups is an excess...) of coffee always has an interesting effect...my hands shake uncontrollably, I dance instead of walking even more than I usually do, I get lightheaded (so now I can't tell if I'm still having dizziness issues like yesterday!), and I find almost everything humorous in some way or another.

Do any of you frequent Target? I love that store! One of my favorite things in it is the accessory section. :D That is always the very first place my mom, sister, and I stop when we go there. Target has the most AMAZING bags, hats, and scarves. *dies* I actually splurged when we were there on Sunday and bought an awesome white linen fedora for summer.

But one of the best things at Target is the low-cut socks. Oh my goodness...I am completely addicted to buying them. They're only $1, and every single time I go there they have a ton of new patterns! The latest pair I bought are black with yellow, green, pink, coral, purple, and turquoise stripes.

Tres belle? Oui!

Right now I'm very happy...I'm finally able to actually write music! I've been writing song lyrics for years, but a melody always evaded me. Well, that has ended, at long last! I wrote a song about a week ago that had a melody basically already attached to it, I'm working on another one, and there's a third that I've been working on since last fall. I might record one of them sometime...now the only thing left to do is become good at the piano so I can add an accompaniment!

Day 2.

And did I rise and meet the challenge of posting every day? Of course not. ;) But, whatever. It'll get done when it gets done! So, here is...

Day 2: A favorite movie.

Oh man...I could go crazy with this, too, and make up ten zillion genres and fill them all with at least two or three movies. But I won't. I'll also pick something other than Lord of the Rings, because I think that everyone knows those are my absolute favorite movies! It will never cease to amaze me that I can watch them absolutely any amount of times and I love them as much as ever. But wait...I WASN'T going to talk about LOTR. ;) However, I will talk about my second favorite movie, which has the added benefit of not being very well-known! And that would be...

I'm not even completely sure what it is about this movie that I love so much. I love the story...it's so inspiring and not quite like any other sports movie. I love the general air of British-ness. I love the characters. I love the music (the theme is one of the best things ever, and I've also fallen in love with "Jerusalem", England's unofficial national anthem that plays at the end...it is EPIC. And listen carefully to the second verse - the name of the movie was taken from a line of the song!). I love the cinematography. I love to run. So I guess I came up with a ton of things I love about it, but there's still something undefinable that makes it amazing and puts it right up there under LOTR in my favorite movies.

"Now there are just two of us...who can close our eyes and remember those few young men with hope in our hearts and wings on our heels." Lord Andrew Lindsay, Chariots of Fire

"I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." Eric Liddell, Chariots of Fire

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I cannot wait for summer! I went out to dinner with some friends last night and had a great time making tons of grand plans with one of them for the summer. This summer is going to be absolutely AMAZING. I almost always make big plans for the summer, but I really think that this year they'll be carried out. I can't wait! Today wasn't so great, however...all day I felt extremely dizzy, like I'd just done about ten zillion double pique turns all around a room. Then I started feeling nauseated, it got worse when I laid down, and wasn't too encouraged when my mom looked up "dizziness and nausea" on the internet and informed me that they are symptoms for heart problems, kidney problems, brain tumors, anemia, and basically nothing less serious than food poisoning. Lovely. However, these dizziness issues happened last year too and as far as I know nothing is seriously wrong, so hopefully it's still just mild anemia or something and will just go away! I'm feeling a bit better now, however.

I really need a haircut. I HATE MY HAIR!!! Well, I do at the moment, at least. Erm. Anyways! Just had to throw that out there!

My dad designed the logo for this year's dance recital and it is SWEET. I'll most definitely post a picture of the t-shirt after I get it! And speaking of dance, I don't think that dance studios should have spring break. Actually, I don't think they should have a summer break either (well, maybe for like two weeks...)! We're on spring break right now and I miss it!!! Right now I'd usually be in modern... *sigh* At least we'll be going Thursday afternoon to work on the duet my sister and I are doing for the recital! We're reprising Spanish from our Christmas show, but this time on pointe!

Oh...and I'm SO excited! I now have 60 followers! :D That's amazing! Thank you so much, Polka Dot! Plus, I now have an even number of followers, which also makes me happy. haha But don't let that discourage you from following! ;)