A Few Of My Favorite Things Blog Tag!!!

Gracious - long time no blog! Did you have a good Christmas? Happy 2016!! Life has continued to roll by with its changes and challenges, and I'll be sure to do a mini update-in-Sarah's-life soon.

However, in the meantime, I've been blog-tagged by Leslie from The Upstream Writer to do a Christmas (although she says it can be wintry, all things considered :p) Posting.

Rules: use the same title and top picture (check), answer the questions (of course!), and tag 5 fellow bloggers (mmm...problematic, since I don't know that I have that many compatriots, but we'll see).

So without further ado...

A Few of my Favorite Things Blog-Tag Questions-and-Answers

1. What are some of your favorite "Snuggle Weather" books?

Sadly, I don't have any books that I consistently read or gravitate to in Snuggle Weather. I blame this on the fact that there are always so many amazing, "new" books to read. That said, I really love The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (by Barbara Robinson) and Shepherds Abiding (by Jan Karon) as Christmas-time stories!

 

2. What is your favorite wintry snack?

Mmmm. Peppermint hot chocolate. (Yum!)

3. What are some of your favorite hot drinks?

Chai teas - always, peppermint hot chocolate - for special occasions, and peach tea lattes - for comfort. Oh yeah, I drink my fair share of coffee, too.

4. What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

Favorite Christmas movies seem often to gain their titles for reasons of nostalgia. Imagine my dismay, therefore, in answering this question - because we rarely watched Christmas-themed movies while I was growing up! That's not to say we didn't watch any, it just isn't an essential part of my warm-and-fuzzy Christmas memories.

However, I find The Nativity a beautiful - and more honest than most - telling of the Christmas story.

5. What are some of your favorite holiday songs?

I love the songs in Michael Card's album The Promise, specifically "Joseph's Song," "We Will Find Him," "Thou The Promise," and "Jacob's Star."

6. Favorite snow day crafts?

*Ahem* Does reading count as a craft? Because that's my hands-down fav for snow days! Otherwise, I like knitting, crocheting, hand-sewing...anything that makes pretty things while not demanding my full attention (because if I'm not reading, I'm enjoying the people around me!).

7. Do you want to build a snowman?

Of course!!! Also...sometimes not. I didn't with our recent snowing, because I've developed a nasty cold and was being a stuffy old lady in attempts to not make it worse. But theoretically, yes- always.

And that wraps up the bloggy game! Lauren, Mikaela, or Elanee, if you feel like carrying on with posts of your own, please do! Otherwise, I would love to hear any- and every- one's answers to these questions in the comments!!

Blessings!

Tag Time! {part 2}

Short. Sweet. To-the-point. These are my rules for part 2 of tag. Ready? Here we go!

{credit}

Part II: List 11 random facts about yourself. (If I can think of that many!)

1. I've signed up for my first-ever half marathon! My friend and I have never done more than 7.5 miles, but hey - we have until May to train, so no prob - right?

First training run - done!

2. One of my goals for this fall is to start learning Korean.

3. I was tagged in the infamous Ice Bucket Challenge...and delivered! :p For those of you who love to watch people freeze to death and don't have facebook, never fear! It will be showing up on Wednesday for your viewing pleasure...

4. "Beauty and the Beast" is my favorite fairy tale.

love this picture

5. I have just under 200 books on my easily-accessible shelves, and another massively-sized cardboard box of books from my childhood stuffed to the gills and buried deep within my closet. Also, the overwhelming majority of items on my wishlist from any given website is books.

...but you already knew I was a bookaholic

6. I'm one of those annoying people who is no good at sports, yet plays anyway (much to the chagrin of the pros).

7. Despite the fact that I prefer reading to writing, one of my life goals is to write a children's fairy tale.

8. I'm an avid advocate of kombucha drinking.

Yums!

9. I have a random "disease" called Raynaud's Phenomenon.

10. A confirmed tea snob, I began working at a tea room this summer with a view to someday open my own tea shop!

{credit}

11. Here are the things I can see that are red from where I sit: my friends' cooler, a deck of cards, the cover of Balancing the Sword, and the dress of a paper doll.

I think that classifies as an excessively random fact, which means I get double points.

And now I get to ask 11 questions! And pick some people (forget the "11 people" clause) to answer them! I do hereby tag...

Elanee from Elanee's Endeavors! (It was so fab to meet you this weekend!)
Lynnae from Randomness by Lynnae
Red from The Case of the Red-Head JT


Here are your questions:
1. If you had tomorrow cleared of any previous commitments, what would you do with it?
2. What is your favorite book? :)
3. What is the coolest place you've ever visited?
4. Who is your favorite author?
5. If you could learn another instrument, what would it be?
6. What is your favorite sport? {and you don't have to be good at it... :p}
7. Favorite soundtrack?
8. Best movie adaptation of a book?
9. Favorite chore?
10. Most thought-provoking concept you've come across in the last week?
11. Favorite type of tea?

Are you ready? Go! In the off-chance that you've forgotten the rules, just check out the previous post. :D

Happy Labor Day!

Tag Time! {part 1}

Don't we all love tag?? Today, I'm playing the game by the rules of my friend, William. We met last summer during the amazing Reformation Tour (which I just realized I never did a true synopsis of...that will really have to happen at some point)!

Me, Kaytch, & William: first meeting!

 Between him, us three girls, and a few other cool people, we formed the fabulous Back of the Bus Gang.

Back row: Aislinn, Charae, Yours Truly, Kaytch, Lieren
Front row: Stephen, William, Abigail, Noel

I have decided that touring Europe together is one of the absolute best ways to make friends.

Lieren, Charae, Abby & Grace, Aislinn, Moi, William

...here is where I rapidly switch back to the topic of tag to avoid feeling a little homesick for that wonderful month of travels!

SO, the rules of the game are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog. This feels slightly egotistical toward whomever I tag, but I'm certainly grateful to William for getting to join the fun!!
2. Answer his/her 11 questions.
3. Add to these 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Come up with your own 11 questions.
5. Tag (up to) 11 other blogs (with under 200 followers) to answer your queries and follow the previous 4 steps.

6. Do some mental math and come to the conclusion that, provided all 11 blogs comply, there will be 242 answers/random facts added to the blogosphere, compliments of your solitary blog post.

{confession: I did not do that math mentally}

Shall we begin? Because I love to ramble (apparently), and because I love to play tag (obviously), I'm prolonging the game into two posts. Because I can. :)

Part I: answering William's questions.

{photo credit}

1. What is your favorite type of music?
One of the hardest and favoritest questions! I like to play classical, listen to soundtracks, and sing along to hymns and (some) praise music. Thanks to this question, I now have a theme for this week's Watch-It Wednesday. :D

And...complete honesty requires me to acknowledge that I enjoy some kpop, also.

2. What is your favorite genre of literature?
Historicalfictionfairytalesfantasy(specificallyallegorical)philosophytheologybiographyclassicspoetry.

3. Would you rather read books or write articles?

I know this may come as a shock, considering the 30 Day Book Challenge I did last month, but I'd rather read than write.

{Yes, sarcasm.}

While I really do enjoy writing - when I feel I have something worth saying - I would much rather find an author with a complete mastery of words and read his. :)

4. How many brothers and/or sisters do you have?
4 bros, 5 sisters. For a total of 9 siblings. And yes, I did that math in my head.

5. If you lived 100 years ago, where would you choose to live?
According to HistoryOrb, August 25th held these events:
-German army begins 6 weeks of plundering Leuven, Belgium
-German Zeppelins bomb Antwerp, Belgium
- German troops march into France and pushes the French army to Sedan

Basically, if I was alive 100 years ago, I would be watching the beginning of the first world war. I don't really feel any pull to that difficult and tragic time, so I guess the best answer would be the US, since we hadn't joined the war yet...

6. Which theological subject are you most interested in?
This was a hard one, William, because I've actually never thought of Theology as being divided into different subjects. I had to ask Ben, but his answer was right-on (which is why, you know, he was to be asked). Answer: the personhood of Christ.

7. If you could travel to any one place in the world, where would you go?

Why must you ask a question like this?? Only one place? I can't pick one! I want to go back to Scotland, England, and Switzerland. I want to see Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Korea, Japan, Greece, Australia, Norway, Finland...Victoria B.C! Arches National Park, the Grand Canyon, Chicago, Disney Land, Maine, Prince Edward Island, Gates of Calypso Iguazu Falls (Brazil), Grand Wailea Canyon Activity Pool (Hawaii), the musical road in Lancaster, CA, and, within the next couple weeks, Frederick, Maryland will be added to the list.
Basically, give me a plane ticket and a suitcase, and I'm off.

8. Why did you start a blog?
Oh, self-absorption, mostly. Feeling a driving need to be recognized on the world wide web, I planned my momentous debut for months ahead of time, researching for agonizing hours what exactly was calculated to instantly draw the masses and grant me the platform I never found to be large enough in real life.

It didn't work.

So I went to Plan B for "purpose." Namely, maintaining an easy scrapbook wherein both grandparents and other family/friends could keep somewhat updated on my life.  Part B of Plan B was that it gave me an outlet for writing and a challenge to write consistently.

That's worked a bit better.

9. Where would you prefer to live: the city, or the country?

 

City for a couple years (and I'm talking city city: apartment downtown sorta thing)...because cities hold such an endless realm of adventures and possibilities, I'm drawn to them. Ultimately, however, I prefer to live in the country with s-p-a-c-e and quiet and flower gardens and veggie gardens and fruit trees and animals...and maybe even a house. :p

10. What is the most influential book, other than the Bible, in your life?
I feel like I keep talking about these books. I don't know if I could pinpoint just one. The Narnia series is so fully ingrained into who I am, that I'm sure I don't know all the influence it's had on me. When I think of truly mind-opening books I have read, they are Surprised by Joy, Til We Have Faces, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, and The Book that Made Your World.

Disclaimer: I'm sure there are tons of others I simply can't think of at this moment. ;)

11. What is your favorite movie?
Oh goodness. Really, William?? :p Short answer: Can't answer. Long answer: well, you asked for it....

Master and Commander, Ever After, Les Miserables, Cinderella Man, Wives and Daughters, Patriot, The Man From Snowy River, North and South, Tammy and the Bachelor, Luther, Sense and Sensibility (with Emma Thompson)...

...these are in no particular order. Some of them are "favorites" because I've grown up on them. Almost all of them are favorites for nostalgic reasons, as much as anything else. I like watching movies just fine, but am hard-pressed to say that I really have "favorites." :)

There now, aren't you glad I'm doing this in two parts? 400 brownie points to all of you who waded through my verbosity. To the skimmers: shame on you, on your family, and on your cow.

Tune in next Monday for part 2!! :)

30 Day Book Challenge! Day 8: All About Books

Ahhh...quote time. You all have been spared certain death-by-quotes because I'm not home to locate where I have them all written. (Beware tomorrow. Bwahahahaha!)

Day 8: What are some your favorite quotes about books?

"You are the same today {as} you’ll be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read." - Charlie "Tremendous" Jones

"I am going to tell you one of my faults, for it continues, I fear, to be one of my faults still, as it certainly was at the period of which I am now writing. I am very fond of books. Do not mistake me. I do not mean that I love reading. I hope I do. That is no fault - a virtue rather than a fault. But...I am foolishly fond of the bodies of books as distinguished from their souls, or thought-element. I do not say I love their bodies as divided from their souls; I do not say I should let a book stand upon my shelves for which I felt no respect, except indeed it happened to be useful to me in some inferior way. But I delight in seeing books about me...."- Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood (George MacDonald)

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - G.K. Chesterton

Now it's your turn! Share your favorite about-books quotes with me? Please?

30 Day Book Challenge! Day 3: Favorite Characters

{photo credit}

Day 3: Who are your favorite characters? (Include their books)

Perhaps some readers have, in the course of their lifetime, been introduced to a favorite character who just came alive off the page to them. A character to whom they related greatly, or by whom they were challenged, or who was so exceedingly well developed that they couldn't tear themselves away from him. Perhaps some readers have been able to so vividly picture a specific character, that they feel as though they have actually seen and spoken with him more than any other character they have encountered.

But I have not.

All characters from the books I have read feel equally alive to me. They are all old and dear friends, ones who I love to revisit whenever I am reorganizing my bookshelves have an hour or two to spare. Here are the first couple who came to my mind:

~ Mr. Tilney ~

{Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen}

Yes, of all Jane Austen's heroes, I simply love Mr. Tilney. Why? Because he is earnest in his calling, quick-witted (in both jokes and understanding), mature, graciously forgiving of complete foolishness, does not speak poorly of people unless absolutely necessary, honoring of his father even when his father would be classified as "unable-to-be-honored" ~ yet not carrying the honor too far in "going along with" dishonor himself. 

~ Polly Milton ~

{An Old-Fashioned Girl, by Louisa May Alcott}

It is hard for me to think that any of you may not know dear Polly Milton, but in the event you have never met her, I will share why I love her: Polly is sweet and down-to-earth. She catches herself whenever she begins to be drawn away and satisfied with superfluous things, and she loves in the best sense of the word: in a way that is not afraid or ashamed to question and challenge those she loves.

~ Freckles ~

{Freckles, by Gene Stratton Porter}

Freckles is another wonderful friend. He is honest, hard-working, and ready to take on the world, but with a kind and quieter disposition...you could say he has poetry in his soul. :) I love Freckles for being a rather whimsical character, with enough hard-earned character in him to keep him real.

I suppose, if I had thought through this more, I could have determined a list of characters I love who exemplify the various qualities I especially appreciate. However, I think these three still encompass the type well. They are all clear thinkers, with a will to find the way to do whatever they have set out to accomplish. They bless those around them by being useful in either word or deed - often both.  They defy the stereotype that all the slow and steady workers in the world (who never aspire to or reach great {worldly} recognition) may be honorable but dull, because they have their moments of great mirth.They stick to their principles without wavering, even under duress, and their lives are not sparkling and glorious, but warm and bright. People may not see them from afar, but all those nearby feel rich from the warmth of their glow. These are the characters who endear themselves to me.

Do you have a favorite character?

30 Day Book Challenge! Day 2: Bottom Five

As early as I can remember trotting into the library and choosing worlds to discover from the neatly-organized volumes on the shelves, I can remember considering my mum's advice: "A good book is a book where bad is shown as bad, and good is shown as good. A bad book is where the two get tangled and confused."

Having had this insightful advice from a young age, I have very few regrets when it comes to books I have read. Yes, there were the careless volumes I would pick up at a friend's house when I was younger, or the occasional terribly-soured, never-saw-that-coming plot twist from my older years, but even so, I had to rack my brains for the answer to today's question.

Day 2: What are you 5 least favorite books of all time?

After some consideration, I selected five books which exemplify the characteristics which I dislike in books. I don't know that I actually abhor a single book I ever read...with the exceptions of ones I never finished.

~ Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, by Patrick O'Brian ~

Problem: Bad wasn't bad

This is one of those books I never finished, and actually threw away. See that picture on the front? That's the wonderful Russel Crowe from the movie adaptation of this book, which we as a family love. So when I chanced upon an old paperback in our local used book store, I bought it with no hesitations, trusting that it would, true to form, be better than the movie.

But it wasn't. It broke the book rule. It did not condemn sin, but laughed at it. I was heartbroken, because the author was obviously witty and I already knew I liked the story line, but it broke the rule, so in the garbage it went.

~ An Unlikely Friendship: A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley, by Ann Rinaldi ~

Problem: Poorly researched, confusing writing form

This, sadly, is the book to which I alluded in the last post, and which I shall not keep much longer. The standard it failed? Good research and clarity. While the second half about Elizabeth Keckley was not as bad, the first half about Mary Lincoln was, simply, terribly written. For one thing, the authoress contradicted herself several times on the age of Mary's siblings and order of birth. Additionally, the form was random and confusing, one moment told in third person, the next in first person, the next in a biographical tone. This could have been good, but Rinaldi did not do adequate homework.

~ Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore ~

Problem: Lagged

This is actually a funny one for me to put up here, because technically, I like this book. That is to say, I like the story, which is very sweet. However, Mr. Blackmore does lag. A lot. For several hundred pages. While I greatly appreciated knowing the back story on various characters, detailed descriptions about the fog were just unnecessary.

~ A Man Called Outlaw, by K.M. Weiland ~

Problem: Clarity, grey morality

I don't need to hash through this book again. If you're curious on my detailed thoughts, check out my review from the last book challenge.

~ The Mandie Series, by Lois Gladys Lepard ~

Problem: Integrity

When I was little, I devoured the Mandie books. They were great mysteries for the young reader - not too scary, but still suspenseful - and highly relate-able, since the main character was a girl. :) However, after reading several of these "Christian" books, it began to nettle me that she would disobey her grandmother, get in trouble, and then merely recite a memory verse and everything magically became okay. It was like Scripture was her incantation to get away from the bad guys and get out of punishment for her disobedience. 

Considering the books when I was older, I realized the series was not truly Christian. It was your typical girl mystery series, with some verses sprinkled throughout in order to appeal to the Christian audience. In a session I attended at our Home School Conference in April, Israel Wayne hit the nail on the head: "Whenever an artist produces a piece of art contrary to his worldview, that is art which lacks integrity." This applies both to Christians producing immoral or hopeless art and to non-Christians adding religion into their art forms. Mandie was a series which lacked integrity.

What standards have you set in selecting your reading material?

30 Day Book Challenge! Day 1: Top Ten

Several months ago, I was forced into making a resolution that was both difficult and necessary: I had to stop buying books. Why? Because an addiction which requires you to always exit bookstores with your arms full has it's costs - literally. Plus, quite frankly, I am out of room (but dad's going to put new bookshelves in, so that will soon be remedied!! I mean, that particular difficulty will be...). Anyway, as a result of this new rule of mine, I bought no books in April (yay!), one book in May (ahem. Well, see, that's a pretty good record for me...I was at Powell's), and one book at the beginning of June (souvenir of D.C. a bad book. a waste). While this may seem like a failure to some people, I was actually feeling pretty good about my greatly-reduced-book-buying-habit.

I still am feeling pretty good about it.

However, sometimes one just has to resign one's self to her fate, and mine is that I am a book magnet. Case in point? I am currently on a road trip, and our (3rd night?) on the road, I was given two books that I can't wait to dive into! Given. Really. I promise. But, you know, now I have those two books. Following this acquisition, I made a second June book purchase. And I have a good reason! My I-think-he's-a-cousin-of-some-sort-but-I'm-too-tired-to-figure-it-out-right-now recently published a book (which I will review once I've read!) re-writing the Westminster Shorter Catechism in modern vernacular, with commentaries and study questions for each Q&A. I consider myself justified in this purchase.

Nonetheless, the fact remains: I'm a total book addict.

Therefore, embracing who I am, I have decided to once again launch into a 30 Day Book Challenge! I did one in 2012 for the month of June (click for Day One), and had great fun. Here we go again for {at least my and maybe} your reading pleasure!

Day 1: What are your 10 favorite books of all time?

Sad as I am that listing 10 books will not allow me the space to talk about each one, I am excited to share these with you! And so, in no particular order....

~ Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, by Anthony Esolen ~

~ The Chronicles of Narnia (technically more than one book, but it's my blog and I 

make the rules), by C.S. Lewis ~

~ Heartless, by Elisbeth Stengl ~

~Ishmael and Self-Raised, by EDEN Southworth ~

~ Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton ~

~Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis ~

~ The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie, by George MacDonald ~

~ The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff ~

~The Book that Made Your World, by Vishal Mangalwadi ~

~ Their Yesterdays, by Harold Bell Wright ~

Wow. I'll be honest: I have no idea if those are really my top ten of all time. However, this I can guarantee: those are 10 really good books! :)

What are some of your favorite books? Let me know in the comments! Until tomorrow ~