happy happy happy

Tag.

Cally, in all her supreme sweetness, tagged me for the happiness tag. And she 
couldn't have picked a better time, because life is fantastic at the moment. Cousins, cows, chickens, God, good grades, etc. ;) So here we go! 



books: James Herriot, forever and always. His life and veterinary stories have always captured my imagination, as well as being just exactly the right kind of sentimental. Other books that make me particularly happy are mostly ones I've read dozens of times, years ago. The Farthest Away Mountain, The Fairy Rebel, The Island of Blue Dolphins. Oh, and The Swiss Family Robinson. It's about homesteading, survival, discovery, animals, and pretty much everything good.

words: Darling, crustacean, trample, remarkable, rolling, waterfall, tumble, twirl, catch, worm, bovine, love, remembered,  crystal, wooden, bottle... Heh. 

movies & tv: Weeeell. I love Newsies. Crutchy and Mush, yup yup. Anne of Green Gables is super nostalgic... Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are hilarious. And yes, Merlin is pretty great too.  Lord of the Rings, Tintin

scents: Grass, cow breath, lilacs, violets, Dad, (you are too right Jordy) dirt, rain, sunshine (hush up, it does too have a smell) cedar, sweat and grease, river water 

songs: Oh boy. So many. Hum, at the moment No Hopers and Jokers and Rouges is my theme song. Just listen to the lyrics... It's exactly what I want to tell everyone I meet. Because they're all either no hopers, jokers or rouges. Or all of them at once. And SOMEONE ought to tell them it's okay. Also,  most Celtic music and anything catchy or lyrically interesting. 

miscellany: Ah ha, here it is. My cow Clouds makes me so ridiculously happy. She's much too much of a darling and I adore her. My other cows are fantastic too, but she's the original. 
Catching worms in the middle of the night while it's raining (they're huge and I love them). Insects, good things, music. Chocolate. Duh. 


Nominees: Cameron C'mon, get your rear in gear and blog something.
Emily So I went to go grab the link to your blog and then right below your name it said, "Lady Emily is your friend." and taken out of context and read in a low whisper was really quite creepy. 
Cassie HAPPY AAAHHAHAHHAHA *falls on face*

happy Valentines Day, you lot. it's a silly holiday, but hey. at least you get to buy yourself lots of chocolate. (although i keep getting asked if it's a gift and i am forced to admit that i fully intend to eat it all myself) 

                                                                                    x

         listen up

My Earliest Memories Tag

Lydia S. did this tag and left it open for anyone who wanted to do it. And I wanted to. So I did. XD

Me.

1. What is your earliest memory? 
Back when we still lived in Colorado, I remember waking up from a nap (remember naps?) when I was.... Oh, somewhere between two and five... and I was the only one in the house, except Mom. The sun was just setting and the entire trailer park was painted orange. All the older kids had gone over to the park and left me at home. Well, not to be deterred from playing before bed, I found a basketball and then figured out how to dribble it. So I practiced dribbling a basketball in the orange trailer park. 

2. What is your earliest memory of a birthday?
I have no idea how old I was turning (three? five? *shrug*), but our family went camping at the beach in Oregon. (I think we were just visiting from Colorado, but we might have moved at that point, not sure) and we were gone during my birthday. So mom made this blueberry cake and I ate it in my highchair. And it is, to this day, the best thing I have ever tasted.

3. What is your earliest memory of a food?
See above answer. XD Oh, unless it was stealing Cori's candy... I'm not sure which came first... Ah well, one time when I was about 4, Cori (sister) got this mug full of candy for her birthday. And oh boy, was I jealous. You must understand, our birthdays are just two days apart and we usually celebrate them together. But do I get an entire mug full of candy? No, I don't. And it wasn't just any candy either, but those amazing strawberry, jelly filled things. So naturally, I wait for Cori and everyone else to be somewhere else and I take what was either the entire thing or a rather large handful and crawl under a bed and eat them. And they were almost delicious enough to make up for how much trouble I was in.

This pretty sums up our relationship at that point. 

4. What is your earliest memory of a gathering?
I can remember our family Christmas's pretty far back, but the most vivid is one Thanksgiving when we ran out of places at the table at our grandparents'. So Cori and sat on a bench and shared a plate. And for some reason, that was just the best thing. 


5. What is your earliest memory of family?
Mm.  Well, I remember staying with my grandma when I was four, while my youngest sister, Autumn was born. I don't think that's the earliest memory I have, but I saw quite a lot of my relatives then, between staying with them, and at the hospital. 


6. What is your favorite memory?
Favorite.... Well, my two younger siblings, Zack and Autumn and I used to play this game called Foxes. It was played on the trampoline and was basically this great big imagination game. Between living in trees, evading hunters and repeatedly rescuing Autumn from poachers, it was a game that made for some very fond memories. Though the cows make for some good too. 

The calf was lonely, so I kept it company. 

7. What is your earliest memory of a gift?
OH OH OH

So, back in Colorado again. It was a party for my third birthday and someone (probably Mom) got me Bear from The Bear in the Big Blue House. Like this? It was this 12 inch tall figure of Bear that danced and talked and sang. Oh man, I loved that thing. That was the same birthday party when Hannah Joy gave me this ziplock back full of these enormous gumballs. And SHE DIDN'T GET ANY FOR CORI HAHAHAHAHAHA Cori almost couldn't believe someone had gotten me candy, and none for her. XD

SO happy.

8. What is your earliest memory of an embarrassment?
Oh boy. Well, I don't get embarrassed very easily and certainly didn't when I was little. I mean, just look at this picture:

Nope. Not very embarrassed.

9. What is your earliest memory of when you were scared?
Well, again, I don't remember getting scared very much, but when I did, it was ridiculously irrational. When I was about eight, my uncle just down the road from us, used to have a llama who was supposed to guard the goats. And for some unknown reason, he always scared me just a little. But the time that was truly terrifying was when us three older girls  were out in the goat field with our goats, and the llama was out there too. We finished with whatever we had been doing and started heading back to the barn and then the llama goes NUTS. He pins his ears back and starts running. (I don't think he was even running towards us). Well, I don't really remember how I got there, but the last thing I remember is hanging from a fence post brace from my arms and legs, refusing to move.
Poor Cocoa. 


10. What is your earliest memory of a camp? 
I have been to an actual camp once, but that was when I was 14. But before that, we did go to our church's camp out. We actually still go to those and they're still super fun. Bikes, a creek, Frisbee, volleyball, campfires, etc. 


11. How young were you when you received Christ? (optional)
I am not sure. I would guess when I was 5 or so. But being raised in a Christian home and all, it kinda feels as though He's always been around. 


Man, I had a good childhood. XD 

Annnnddd I am going to be good and actually tag some people. 

Mary Shelley Reid

Jordy

Cally

Lady Em

And Noor

And duh, if you want to do this, go ahead. :P 

xx

Thankfulness Tag

Stolen from me Mum

I have been tagged by Hannah Joy for this Thankfulness Tag. Ignore the silly coloring, Blogger is being mean today. 

Here we go:

1.  What is your favorite quote or verse that reminds you to be thankful?

Mmmm.... Difficult one. I love all of the letters Paul writes in the New Testament. But I'll go with this one from Hebrews. 

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

a son of man that you care for him?

You made them a little lower than the angels;

you crowned them with glory and honor

and put everything under their feet.”

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:6-9

2. Who are you thankful for?

           Well. My family, obviously. And most everyone, for one reason or another. But in particular my friend, Cameron. I've known her since I was... Oh, about 10, and she's been ever constant. She moved to Alaska for a couple of years and still actively sought my friendship, despite the distance. She's listened to me complain, she's comforted me, she's told me I'm an idiot when I need it (which is almost always) and she has basically always been there for me. And also my cousin Brenna, she is the only other person always there when you need her. Love ya darlings. :P 

3. What live events are you thankful for?

My entire upbringing has been something to be thankful for. Between homeschooling, exceptionally good parents and generous grandparents enabling us to live on farm, I've pretty much had it as good as you possibly could.

4. What is something you are grateful for but don't oftentimes don't think about?

Gravity. ;)

5. What are you going to do to show people your gratitude for them?

I shall bake them lots of pumpkin pie and feed it to them. 

But really, I think what Hannah said on this pretty much covers it. You don't necessarily have to DO something to be grateful, but you can always act selflessly. 

Happy Thanksgiving you lot! Go hug someone you're thankful for or somefin. 

Unbelievable

Taaagggeeedddddddd

I have been tagged. *waggles eyebrows*

Here are the rules:
• Link back to the blogger who tagged you
• Take some pictures of your favorite thing in your room
• Explain why that certain thing is so special to you
• Tag five other bloggers

SO the person who both made the tag and tagged me, is Embers, of A Dragon's Whisper. Go follow her, etc. 

This was a much harder choice than I anticipated. Turns out, I don't have things in my room, unless I really like them. I went with Bog, who is not technically a "thing", but he's my favorite. So ha. XD

 Here he is, in all his glory. Bog wasn't feeling very photogenic, but I did manage to get a few nice-ish pictures of him.

 Isn't he darling?

NOW, the reason he is so special to me is because he's not only a cockroach, but my nicest cockroach. See, I have several others, but he's the nicest and doesn't try to skitter off when you hold him. Plus, he's adorable and fascinating, both excellent reasons for being a favorite of anyone. XD


I taagggggg...............,

Hannah Joy

  Cally

Jordy

Cassie 

Annddddd The Piano Girl!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some dancing in the rain to do.

I was tagged by the illustrious Cally, from Words Passing You By, for this 777 challenge. Here's the rules:

- share 7 lines from the 7th page of one of your manuscripts

- tag 7 bloggers

I think "manuscripts" just means something you have written. So here is a excerpt from my Nano book. Unfortunately, page seven is a decidedly boring page.

“It doesn't matter. Find things resemble each other. If they look alike, group them together. If they don't, put them somewhere else. It's simple. I think you'll find some drawers beneath under most of the tables. Don't be afraid to go to other tables to find like objects. Also, I have some rules for you observe. One: You are never to go up onto that balcony.” He pointed up towards the balcony and paused for a moment.

“Actually, that's the only one I can think of. Now hop to it.” With that, Federico turned around and walked up the stairs to the balcony and began making clanging noises. Merrick looked at the mess before him.


Now to tag people...

Cori  

Cassie  

Jess  

Embers 

Emily

David (Do you write things??)

Hannah (I know you've already been tagged but I needed 7 people XD)

P.S.
here.

Because I'm Batman.

The required owl.

Rules:

-You must make a post to show your award on your main blog. -You must tag the person who nominated you in your post (also take the cute owl above you). -You must nominate all of your best buddies, and those whom you want to become best buddies with, who, to your knowledge, have not been nominated for this award. -You must ask your buddies at least 15 questions in your post. -You must answer all of the questions your buddies ask you on your post.

I was nominated by Candence Declan for this Best Blogging Buddies Award thingy. Thanks Candence for the nomination, answering questions about yourself is always fun. XD Up there are the rule. ^

The questions from Cally:
1. Last dream you had? Let me think.... Okay, pretty sure it went something like this: I was at this place where we sometimes go swing dancing, and Jess and Hannah Joy were there with the rest of their family, (that's not really the important part, but I thought I'd mention it anyway) and I was dancing with a guy from art school and then Cori walks up and says, "My turn!" and starts dancing with me instead. And the guy from art school looks slightly annoyed and goes and dances with Hannah. And Hannah just smiled sheepishly the rest of the dream.
2. What do you normally eat for breakfast? Nothing. Don't like eating breakfast.  3. Any songs that you just absolutely love? The Arrow by Josh Garrels. I heard it in concert and just about died. Also, Geronimo by Sheppard right now.  4. Current favorite post? Hum hum..... This one. Because it's a story and I am HOOKED. 

5. Thought of the day? Wouldn't it be nice to have help with everything?? Like, what if when you sat with that sick calf or went to go feed, someone you enjoyed was just there. Sitting. Keeping you company. And you weren't alone. 6. Are you ready for summer? Very. I like the rain, but now I am ready for the sun to come back. 7. Something I may not know about you? I can whistle. *waggles eyebrows*  8. When you hear the word Run, what do you think (of)? Running. Duh. XD Or this.

OR the Cow SRTM because EVERYONE is ALWAYS  running in that. (if you want to know what that is, pester Jess or Hannah. It was their fault.)

9. What is the weather like right now? Rainy and cloudy. And a bit sunny. 10. What makes you smile? Most things. But specifically funny things.  11. If you had the chance to travel through space, for any amount of time, would you? Yep. But preferably for not TOO long. I like it here.   12. Describe how you feel right now in one word.  Hummmmmmm

13. Do you have any favorite posts posted this week (by you or by others)? Didn't you already ask that?? Still this. 14. Smell of rain or feel of sunlight? Both. At once. Because this is Oregon. 15. Can you? Most definitely.

Now the part where I try to come up with some nominees.... Unfortunately, just about everyone else I know with a blog is already doing it. So these are the people I pick:
                 Arthur (Sorry. XD)                                                         Cameron (You can put your answers in the comments I guess) Cassie And you, Cori. Put your answers in the comment section too. And whoever else is reading this, you put your answers in the comment box as well. Unless you have a blog and then say I nominated you. My Questions For You: 1. Something you feel strongly about? 2. A place you would like to visit someday? 3. Cool, obscure skill or talent you have? 4.Something I most likely don't know about you? 5. Favorite genre of music? 6. What are you going to do with your life? 7. How do you react in stressful/frightening situations? 8. Is being right/correct important? 9. What is the last word you spoke aloud? 10. If you could change anything about your physical appearance, would you? If so, what? 11. Do you lean more towards introvert or extrovert? 12. Slugs or snails? (Important question, that.) 13. If you were travel back in time to any time period, where would you go? And this is not an optional trip. You're lucky you get to chose the time. 14. Did anything terrible happen to you in your childhood? 15. How fast can you run?

Batman out.