.......

Sometimes I feel the urge to write a book just so there would be something I could read without having to read the back cover or skim through it. I wish I could just pick up a book where the storyline was not only in depth and creative but that was also full of real life issues, redemption and the true nature of man. Don't get me wrong, there are untold amounts of magnificent, glorious of books out there, written by brilliant theologians and beautifully gifted storytellers. Many of these books are classics and a vast amount I have already read.

But why is finding a good book written in the past five years so hard? Something a bit deeper than Harry Potter or Twilight would be nice. But alas.....my mind is one big jumbled mass of words of late and I think I'll have to sort through everything before I can ever begin to write out the endings to novels!

Red Wine and Stuffing.

Happy Thanksgiving! After waiting for this day all year long it's finally here. The weather reports are predicting snow tomorrow and the entire family will be here by the end of today :)

We have started are massive annual food preparation. The 24 pound Turkey is thawing in our kitchen sink and the other turkey is roasting in the oven, filling the house with a wonderful aroma. Rolls are in the oven and I'm about to start making the pie crusts, for a whole bunch of pies.

The snow has been falling in big white flakes for the past seven hours and does not appear to be stopping anytime soon. The world outside of my delicious smelling haven is one covered in a heavy feather blanket of white.

Good food, hot drinks, a brand new version of Settlers of Catan to try out and I am ready for a weekend snowed in and free of school!

Ramblings on notes and snow..

Dark is all I can see out side my window. Dark and the ever so often glimpse of white fury, swirling in its own madness. The constant pounding of wind and ice against my window is the only reminder I have of the cold outside.

Here I am, warm and just slightly tired, reading by the light of my computer screen. The soft light of the lamp in the corner really is useless for reading, but it does add a certain warmth to the room.

I really should be doing some of the piles of homework I have laying around, instead of sitting here writing random words. But of course I'm not. Instead I'll put it off as usual and then stress about getting done in time. I don't really care though, I haven't written for so long and it just feels good!

Chopin has been playing through my pandora station for a little while and as always his music strikes something in me that sends shivers down my spine. There have been very few classical artists who have affected me the same way Chopin has. Certain aspects of his music about a specific phrase or stanza, seem to tell a story. As I listen I can see the story unfold in my head.

This is what makes the music so much more beautiful and real. The chords and intervals of his music are like life, they can change from the joys of childhood to life's bittersweet memory's in so short a time. It's not about the fingering or perfecting the technique of a phrase, because as I listen to music like that I hear only timing and precise fingering.

This is not what I wish to hear. Play for me the notes of life and love between those cleft lines. And don't skip over the bitter notes because they are what make the rest sweet.

A Garden full of quotes :)

Many of these I have written down over the years because I love them so much, but a few I just recently stumbled upon. They just made my day better...
Sometimes I could go for hours reading quote after little saying and it never grows old. Enjoy!

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain

When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen. But if you have not a pen, I suppose you must scratch any way you can. ~Samuel Lover, Handy Andy, 1842

I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. ~James Michener

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. ~Flannery O'Connor

Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn't we? ~Terri Guillemets

A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one. ~Baltasar Gracián

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. ~Hart Crane

I'm back....

There is something about typing my thoughts down on a screen instead of wring with pen and ink on paper, that blocks my mind and causes havoc on my brain. I don’t know if there’s a disconnect between the motions my hand make as I write or the lack of them as I type, and it is something I'm working on conquering.

How does one accomplish this? I wish someone would tell me. Lately I’ve been struggling with writing even a little bit. I feel no deep longing to write and this worries me. I know that good writing takes practice and the strength to sit and put words down on paper, even when you’re not feeling creative in the slightest. Out of hard work comes masterpieces.

To me this quote explains a lot.

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~Gene Fowler

Lately this is how I feel all the time. It’s almost been easier for me to write essays and such, than it for me to put down in writing my thought’s or recent happenings in my life.

So this right here is me dragging words out of my throat, can’t you tell? I know I can.

Until another time, and I promise it won’t be so long.

Love your tired college student.

Join us for Irish Step classes this Fall!

It's official! My sister and I have finally found a studio to begin teaching Irish step classes in! It's not only affordable and nearby but also has the most amazing space I've seen in a studio!
From the outside it's looks like a small town fifty year old storefront house, with a little shop down below. The blue paint is peeling, the stairs are just a little bit rickety but the studio upstairs is beautiful!

Fall classes here we come!

Making summer memories, left , right and in the water.

The end of August is almost in sight now. Once September starts everything will be more rushed and crazy with the start of school teaching Irish step and teaching Sunday school at church! I'm worried that I won't be able to schedule everything.

But why think about that right now? I think I'll just daydream about the rest of this month and all the last minute parties I can plan! We never really did that beach party I wanted......

But then I guess it's the little things that make summer so special.

Like Going to the Russian evening service with a bunch of friends and then finding out at the last minute it's canceled, so instead, heading to the park to walk along the waterfront, but ending up, kind of on accident but mostly on purpose, jumping into the pacific ocean with all of our clothes on.

Or maybe a special moment could be swimming at Whatcom falls and accidentally going over one of the falls and then watching in wonder as a certain sister decides to do the same, only on purpose. Only then we were stuck and couldn't get out. Boy are we stupid!

Just for the record both of these incidents happened in the past week.

Ever wonder how boring summer would be without water?