Tuesday, November 29, 2005

What Princess Am I?

I've been Belle since I was 5 years old. I would have been really shocked if I'd gotten anyone else. :oP

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Belle

You are bookish but incredibly pretty. Belle was first seen in Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Personality Test Results

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Monday, November 28, 2005

Catching Up

I have gone from a TTLB ranking of "Flippery Fish" to "Multicellular Microorganism." How humiliating.

Thanksgiving was nice. The food was wonderful. Shopping was fun. It was nice to see everybody, especially my "cousin" Jessica, who practically lived with us last year. I hadn't seen her in months.

My mother and I saw Pride and Prejudice yesterday. As a Jane Austen fanatic and someone who has seen every movie version of every book, I was a tiny bit worried. I still have nightmares stemming from the modernized-mormonized version of P&P that came out a few years ago....

...I'm satisfied. I wasn't the only person who walked out of the theater grinning like an idiot, which is a pretty good measurement of just how satisfying it was.The theater was about half-full (better than it was for one of my other favorite period-flicks, Vanity Faire) and everyone in there seemed to GET the movie. They all laughed...or giggled... in the right spots.

Mr. Bingley was adorable. He was like a cute, confused puppy. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were much more low-key than in the A&E version, but still hilarious. Jane was lovely and gentle and soft and calm and sooo....Jane-ish.

Keira Knightly was a great Elizabeth and I think she captured Elizabeth's "quicksilver temper" really well. My mother thinks that she must have watched the A&E version several times before she got the part because in some of her facial expressions and intonations, especially in the parts that were really word-for-word from the book, she looked or sounded a lot like Jennifer Ehle (the other Elizabeth.)

I was really worried when I saw the pictures of Matthew MacFayden, who plays Darcy. The pictures I found made him look like some watery-eyed, weak-chinned rat boy. Yeah. I was scared. But everything is alright now. He's a nice Darcy. And his eyes aren't watery. They're fine. :o)

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Like yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater

Today has been one of those interesting days.

Our furnace wasn't working earlier, which explains why I was so blasted cold all morning. We had a guy come out and fix that, so it's working fine now.

It's kind of a gross day, so the family decided to take my dad to see Harry Potter this afternoon. We drove over to the theater, got our popcorn, and were getting settled with about 30 minutes to go until the start of the movie.... and the fire alarm went off. These brilliant white lights started flashing around our very dark theater and a robotic voice told us to make our way to the nearest exit. So, the entire contents of an 18-Screen theater gathered outside in the cold and slush, many people wishing they had remembered their coats (*cough*Andrew.)

The employees were very nice, and gave 2 free passes to everyone waiting outside, even the people who hadn't even been at the movies to begin with. ("Free passes? Sure I was at...uh...that new movie...yeah.") After 20 minutes or so the all clear was given and everyone piled back inside, expecting everything to pick back up where it left off. We got refills on our very cold popcorn and had just gotten resettled when we found out that all movies were cancelled until this evening.

Everyone files back outside. Moaning and complaining. (Well, not us. We were cracking up.) My mother went to the ticket counter to switch our tickets to a later showing and, rather than just switch them over, they refunded our original tickets AND gave us 6 more free tickets for one of the evening showings. So, all together we scored 18 free movie tickets....24 if you count the 6 for the cancelled showing.

Sometimes being inconvenienced is a wonderful thing.

I feel sorry for the employees of the theater. They lost a lot of time and money today because someone pulled a stupid prank. I think they performed very well, considering the circumstances and managed to keep the very cold and impatient crowd relatively calm. Besides that, a bunch of them had to run around outside in their short-sleeved uniforms! Brrrrrr....

One-two-three, one-two-three....

My parents, Patrick, and I had our first ballroom dance lesson last night and I am completely in love with it.
Our instructor, Miss Anthony, started us with the basic waltz and swing steps, and then added some turns...that would be the part where the girl gets to spin around and hope her partner doesn't lose her. (Ok, I admit, my partner was not the one at fault when we were practicing turns. Miss Anthony accused me of trying to run away.)

I couldn't stop dancing around last night after we got home. That's not really a new thing for me, though. I dance around all the time. What is new is that my dancing actually had a recognizable form and wasn't just limbs flailing.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

My mother made me do it!

I've been tagged by my mother to do this. Maybe someday I'll actually write something with some substance. :o)


Seven things to do before I die:

1. Get married (starting with the basics :o))
2. have some kids
3. learn to play the violin
4. live in Germany
5. paint something beautiful
6. dance ballet
7. visit England



Seven things I cannot do:
1. fall asleep without reading
2. cook without a very detailed recipe
3. stand on my tip-toes (working on this...)
4. talk easily with people I don't know well
5. date anyone from TX (my brothers would kill both of us, and that wouldn't be very nice, would it??)
6. wear yellow
7. do a spanish accent

(personalizing this one...)
Seven things that (may) attract me to (some potential future) Hubby:
1. sense of humor
2. eyes
3. hair
4. brains
5. lutheran
6. singing ability (can't have tone-deaf children)
7. athletic ability
(hope I don't come off sounding too frivolous there... ;o))

Seven things I say most often
1. Mama!
2. I'm just checking my email real quick....
3. whoa.
4. dude.
5. ja klar!!!
6. I'm hungry....
7. what should I wear?


Seven books or authors you love:
1. Jane Austen
2. Edith Wharton
3. C.S. Lewis
4. P.G.Wodehouse
5. Tolkien
6. The Scarlet Pimpernel
7. one of those crazy Russian dudes....they're all tied


Seven movies you watch over and over again:
1. Pride & Prejudice
2. The Philadelphia Story
3. Much Ado About Nothing
4. Return of the King
5. Sense and Sensibility
6. Finding Neverland
7. Cool Runnings


Seven people I want to join in, too:
1. Rachael
2. Katie
3. Rachel
4. Bean
5. Naomi
6.
7.

What Classic Movie Am I?

What a crock! This is so not me....

Friday, November 18, 2005

Please Pass the Caffeine

My mother, my brothers and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last night. Yes, we are insane.

The FIRST (and most necessary) stop was at Starbucks, where my very favorite brother, Patrick, treated everyone to some much needed caffeine. We waited in line for almost two hours before they let us into the auditorium, where we waited another two hours before the show. We all had books along, so no one got too bored....Except for Andrew, who is always bored.

(Spoiler alert! If you haven't read the book and don't know what happens....uh, read at your own risk.)

The movie itself was fantastic. It didn't seem as intense as it had been made out to be, and was actually more humerous that the others. At least, it seemed so to me. There was a LOT more Fred and George (Yay!!!) and the way this director handled Snape was much more humorous and sympathetic. And, of course, Malfoy the Bouncing Ferret was just priceless......

I admit, I cried when poor Cedric died. *sniffle* I'm just blaming it on the fact that it was getting close to 3:00 in the morning....

The biggest problem I had with it was that they left out Ludo Bagman. I can see why....introducing yet another new character, all of the extra time his scenes would take up.... But, I still would have liked to see him in the movie.

We're going to see it again with my dad sometime soon. I'm sure I'll enjoy it even more the second time around.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Elves and Hobbits in Indiana

We went down to Indianapolis with a group of homeschooling friends yesterday to see the Lord of the Rings movie exhibition. The exhibit has travelled around the world, and the last stop was the Indiana State Museum.

We got to see a bunch of the props and costumes from the movies, as well as interactive demonstrations of some of the technology. There was a laser-scanner that would take a digital map of your face and render it in stone (not real stone, just on the screen.) There was a motion-capture "studio." My personal favorite was the part explaining how they managed the size differences of the characters. I had read about it and seen the documentaries, but nothing expresses it like this :

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

My little brother comes up to my chin, or thereabouts. He loves the picture where he's bigger.

There was a wall where you could be measured to see what race you belong to (men, elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs.) I was either a short girl elf or a tall boy goblin. I'll take being an elf. Patrick was "a human....possibly."

I loved seeing the costumes up close, especially the elves. (Silk velvet, crystal beading....) The swords were awesome. It's one thing to watch the documentaries about the props and hear how intricate they are, and how much effort was put into everything, but when you see it all up close it's fantastic.

There was some really cool stuff at the gift shop too, but it was all pretty expensive. There were elven cloaks for $900 (or hobbity scarves for $300.) I skipped those. I did almost buy a life-size cardboard cut-out of Aragorn for my bedroom door....too bad there was no good way to get it home.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

This could be an Olympic sport...

Thank you Rachael--

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:
6.9
Mind:
5.7
Body:
8
Spirit:
8.8
Friends/Family:
5.9
Love:
2.1
Finance:
6.6
Take the Rate My Life Quiz
I really cannot help but wonder how on earth they got those numbers from my answers....

Conquest!

Also from my mother....







You will take over Iceland using only a tiara

countrypic!
Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

How'd they know I'm royal?????

(BTW:Not sure how well the type on the graphic shows up....if you can't see it, it predicts that I will take over Iceland using only a tiara. :o))

Avoiding School-work....

....yes, it's true. I'm taking a break from writing papers about death and dying to BLOG.

I'm taking this from my mother's blog--

1. What's the best live concert you've ever attended?

Josh Groban was fantastic (and I am such a girl)

2. Which band/artist have you seen the most times live?

Well, since I've never seen the same artist more than once, there's a 4 or 5 way tie going on...Jewel, Josh Groban, Loggins and Messina....

3. What's your favorite Madonna song (and I don't want a lame answer like "I don't really like Madonna" -- everyone has to like at least one of her songs for some reason or another)?

Vogue, I suppose

4. If you could learn any musical instrument and be a pro at it overnight, which one would you choose?

I should say the organ, since I'm supposed to be able to play it anyway, but I ADORE the violin

5. Which decade (including our current decade) has the best music?

one of those decades back when Bach was alive :o)

6. Have you ever met any famous musicians? If so, who?

I haven't met any that are famous....yet

7. What is the first song that comes to mind when you think about the following periods in your life: Age 13, 16, 19, 21, 24? What I mean by this question is to pick a song that best symbolizes you or your life at that age. Don't think hard about it -- the idea is to give the first song that pops in your head for whatever reason.

13: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden
16: How You Remind Me by Nickleback
19: Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts
21: so sorry....can't see into the future
24: ditto

8. What is the best soundtrack of all time?
movie soundtrack- Return of the King
Musical soundtrack- My Fair Lady

9. What is one song that you love that many people might be surprised to know?
there are so many! ;o) I'm going to cheat and list a few.... Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne, The Wall by Pink Floyd, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, and Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard

10. What's your favorite song that only has numbers in the title? (i.e. if there was a song called "101" or "One hundred and one," this would be valid. Also, I'll allow the word "the" and any words that indicate durations, such as minutes, hours, days, months, years, etc.).

1999

11. What do you think is the most overused or annoying word that too many people include in their songs?

Baby (except in the song "Baby Baby")

12. What's your favorite Christmas song (traditional or contemporary)?

traditional- Of the Father's Love Begotten and What Child is This
contemporary- White Christmas (it's Bing!)

13. Personal experiences aside, on an objective level (keep in mind that answering this question will automatically turn it into a subjective one, so even though I say "personal experiences aside," I know what your answer means -- hehe I'm tricky), what is the best song to have playing in the background while you are making out...or dare I say...having sex? I'll allow you to skip this question for any of the following three reasons only: 1) you don't make out, 2) you don't have sex, or 3) you have never had any kind of music playing in the background while engaging in either of these activities...EVER.

I have no experience here so there is no answer

14. If you had your own band, what would you name it?

Dude....I already have a band. The Fiery Nomads (we sound like the Beetles, but with more personality.) ;o)

15. Singer that you really like and that many people might not have ever heard of, and give a link (if available) to their website.

I don't think I have one (I'm so entrenched in pop culture.....there's no escape!!!)

Friday, November 04, 2005

I...Hate...SAUERKRAUT

Yes, I do. And my mother thinks I'm nuts.

And I think that this is just a vicious rumor. There is no redeeming value in sauerkraut.