In Which I Do a Tag Even Though I Said I Was Done With Tags

Simply because the lovely Aspirer tagged me and she's very sweet. :)  And also because I'm listening to a LOTR mixtape on 8tracks, and so am stuck to my computer.

Rules which may or may not be followed:

1) Once you are awarded, post about it on your blog and leave a link back to the person who awarded you

2) Answer all the questions on the tag

3) Do not award anyone who has less than 100 followers

4) Come up with ten new questions

5) Keep your questions clean and refrain from using vile language

6) Tag 5 to 10 people

 Aspirer's questions:

1. How do you like your tea?  

Brewed as dark as I can make it without it making me sick (when it's too strong, it gives me cramps and nausea.  Dunno why.)  About 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and lots of milk.  The best is half-and-half, but that's only around when my grandmother is here for a couple days, so usually it's almond milk.

2. Favorite Jane Austen novel?

YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME!  Eughh...er....Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility.  ( I think...I haven't read S&S for a very long time, so my opinions may have changed.) I think that maaaaybe my top one is now Persuasion.  I'm reading Pride and Prejudice for school, and was extremely saddened to find that its magic has rather diminished for me now.  *tears*

3. Cellos or violins?  

Cellos.  I like the deep tones.

4. Latin or Greek?

LATIN.  Language of the Church!  And it's just so beautiful.  Greek is pretty cool, but it's pagan, and Latin sounds nicer, in my opinion.  I do love the Kyrie Eleison, though.

5. Dream job? (Note that reality does not apply; if you so desired, for example, you could be a librarian in the 1900's)

Nun.  *grins*  To make it more interesting, nun in the early Middle Ages, preferably with a saint for a superior.

6. Favorite saint, and why?

Once again,  there is no way I can just pick one.  However, I suppose I can say St. Therese.  I have, after all, loved her since before my First Communion.  As for why...I love her humility, her Little Way, her abandonment to God's will, and her writing.  It was actually by reading her writings and what others wrote about her that I first learned about subjecting oneself to God's will - and it's a good thing, too, because I've sure needed to trust Him a lot this year.

7. Would you rather live a short life with death by martyrdom or a long, painstaking life with a natural death?

Theoretically, I'd rather live a short life with martyrdom, because then I'd have less time to misbehave and I'd die for Christ, whereas in a long, painstaking life I'd have numerous opportunities to go astray, and I'd get very tired of fighting evil.  Also a natural death could be less meritorious.  However, let me just note that I haven't much desire for martrydom...

8. Favorite kind of chocolate?

Dark-ish, but less than 70%, preferably filled with caramel or some sort of cream filling.  Or those cherry ones.  Heck, just get me a whole box. :)

 

9. Your kind of Prince Charming?

I definitely fall for quiet types.  I like thoughtfulness, quiet chivalry, ability to have deep conversations (especially about literature), and deep voices.  I do not like being paid compliments often - it just embarrasses me.  However, if you never pay me compliments and then one day you drop a little one, I will probably explode from excitement. Oh, and manliness is an absolute necessity.
(I'm allowed to be super picky because I'm becoming a nun so I don't have to be realistic, plus I'm gonna marry the most perfect man ever to be born.)

10. Favorite fictional character?
Wow.  Um. I can't even begin to think.  There are so many.  Also, now that I'm thinking about them, I do believe that I have more male favorite characters than female.  One recent one is Gabriel Gale from Chesterton's The Poet and the Lunatics - in addition to every character Chesterton ever wrote.  *sighs* This is a hopeless endeavor.

Now I was trying to be good and do the new questions and tag people and stuff, but so many of the people I follow have done the tag already, and I can't think of good questions, so....

Bye-the-bye, Aspirer, thanks so much for thinking up such good, thought-provoking questions, and thanks for tagging me even though I'm a naughty child who doesn't follow rules.

British Accents and Summer Camps

I have been tagged by the lovely Rose of The Golden Road, and since I've been at a loss for something to post about, as well as feeling a bit guilty for ignoring my tags for so long, I've decided to do it.

Rules

*Acknowledge the person who passed the award to you and provide their link.
*Include the award logo on your blog.
*Answer the ten questions posted below.
*Make up your own ten questions for the next people.
*Nominate blogs and link those you have especially enjoyed reading. The number you can select is up to you.
*Notify each individual that you have nominated them.

1.  What is your favourite accent? (British, Irish, Scottish, etc.)
This is actually a hard one.  Of course, like every other American girl, I go crazy for English accents, but I find most European accents highly intriguing.   A few days ago I watched an interview of a Romanian singer who spoke pretty much perfect English, but with a slight, rich accent.  Another singer, Cécile Corbel, speaks English with a noticeable French accent, which is also really interesting.  Ooh, and Regina Spektor.  She's Russian and Jewish and from NYC, and she has the coolest accent when she sings. Russian accents are pretty high on my list.  I dunno, accents are just a "thing" of mine.  But to answer the question properly, I'll go with typical old British.  It is, after all, the only accent I can properly imitate.

2.  Your house is on fire; you have 60 seconds.  What is the one thing that you grab? (Yes, I stole this question from the movie Leap Year.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  It is marvelous.)
 (I did see that movie, actually, a long time ago.  It was definitely fluff, but everybody needs fluff once in a while, right?)  
The one thing I would grab...well, in real life, chances are I would be too freaked out to grab anything but my shoes.  If somehow I had a bit more presence of mind, I'd grab my purse.  You definitely need money (and a library card?) when your house is burning down.

3.  You are taking a ramble through the woods heedless of time or place.   Suddenly, you find yourself miserably lost.  What do you do?  (Hysteria is a acceptable option.)
Hysteria would definitely be my first reaction, followed by a decision to randomly choose a direction and walk until something pops up that gives me an idea where I am.  I've done this in real life (though not in a forest) and it usually works, surprisingly.  I do not, however, necessarily recommend it as a desirable course of action.

4.  What is your worst fear?
Hell.

5.  If you could instantaneously be fluent in one language, which would it be?
French, because I need it to graduate.  Also it's pretty.

6.  Would you rather have plain vanilla/chocolate ice cream or a sundae with all the toppings?
Much as I like plain vanilla ice cream, if you put it next to a sundae, the sundae's gonna win, hands down.

 7.  Would you rather watch a scary movie while at home alone or ride the largest roller coaster in the world?
DEFINITELY ROLLER COASTER.  The stupidest scary movies will have me in a heart attack.  I don't know how I ever got through Doctor Who with as little emotional damage as I did.  Roller coasters, on the other hand, are about the only thrilling activity I indulge in.  

 8.  You're stranded on an island for a year.  Choose one fictional character to have on the island with you.
Ooh, I like this one.  It's really hard.  It'd have to be a female, of course, for reasons of propriety, which should narrow it down...but I still can't decide.  Maybe Rosalind from As You Like It? Or Elnora Comstock from A Girl of the Limberlost. This is much too hard.  I've read too many books! I can't choose.

Elnora Comstock. [x]

9.  What is one of the most thrilling things you have ever done?
Well, as you may have surmised, I'm not much of a thrill-seeker.  You might laugh, but I think one of my most thrilling experiences was going to a traditional Catholic girl's camp for the first time three or four years ago.  Of course, as a little girl living in Germany I had all sorts of adventures, but unfortunately I sort of took them in stride, not finding anything particularly unusual about driving into Spain near midnight or going to Rome in one of those trailer things the week of my ninth birthday.  A lot of the "thrill" quality of a thing is in how you see it.

This was taken during my last year of camp, in 2011.  I'm closest to the front on the right-hand side

.  [x]

10.  You are swimming with a group of friends when a splashing fight breaks out, describe your methods of warfare and survival.
Um...well I actually can't swim.  But if I was wading with a group of friends, my method of warfare and my method of survival would be the same: constantly splashing around myself in a circle so that nobody could get near me. And shrieking.

 Now for my questions:

1.  If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, which would it be?
2.  You're in a play, and you can pick any part you like.  Are you a main character, a supporting character, or the random person holding a tray in Act II?
3.  Who is your favorite saint, and why?
4.  Would you sleep outside, with no tent, in the summer? 
5.  You're at someone's house.  There's no one there around your age.  Do you talk with the grownups, play with the kids, or awkwardly pet the dog and hang around the snack table till it's time to go?
6.  What qualities do you look for most in a friend?
7.  If you know about the Four Temperaments, tell which one(s) you are.  If not, just tell about your personality/temperament in general.
8.  What sort of blog post do you have the most fun writing?
9.  Are you more likely to fall in love with the characters of any given movie/TV show, or the plot?  Or maybe something else, like cinematography or costumes?
10.  Do you act the same way in public as you do in private, or do you act in different ways depending on the situation?

 I shall pass the tag on to Treskie at Occasional Randomness.
And...um....that's all.  The rules did say that you could tag as many people as you want.... I just don't seem to have many tag-inclined followers who haven't done this one yet.  If you'd like to do it, don't be put off by the fact that I didn't tag you.  Help yourself, do.


Well that was fun.  Thanks for helping with my writer's blogger's block, Rose!

Hope you all are having a good Lent!
 
(By the way, please excuse the highly uneven sprinkling of pictures in this post...it was too hard to find pictures for all of the questions, so I just did the easy ones. )
 

Tag: Braids, Baking, and Playing Favorites

Another tag, given by another Elizabeth - The Country Handmaiden. This time I'll actually do the "eleven things about me" part.

1)  My life motto is pretty much "better late than never."
2)  My middle name is Annette.
3)  I stay up way too late sometimes (don't we all?) and regret it horridly in the morning.
4)  I get very protective of certain unappreciated/misunderstood fictional characters.
5)  Sometimes I really really really wish that I had red hair, but in reality I would look horrible if my hair were any color other than boring ol' brown.  (My skin has an olive/yellowish tone.)  Guess God knew what he was doing.
6)  My favorite mystery of the Rosary is the Annunciation.
7)  I prefer pearls to diamonds and silver to gold.
8)  I wear scarves indoors.  (And occasionally hats, too.)
9)  I had to put a block on my favorite websites so I wouldn't get so distracted during school hours.  What do you know, I still find ways to get distracted...who knew paint programs could be so engrossing?
10)  I use the aforesaid paint program to color internet coloring pages. It's great fun. *grins*
11)  I love things that are almond-scented.

Now for the actual questions.

1.  Who is your favorite author?
You know how parents aren't supposed to have favorites among their children?  Well, that's kinda how I feel about books and authors, see.  But I will say that J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Elizabeth Gaskell are all high on the list.

2.  If you were to go to one place in the world, where would it be? 
Just one place in the world? Oh dear. Um...some place in Europe...I'd be quite happy just going back to Germany, actually.

3.  What is your favorite color?
My first favorite color is blue, and green second.  Actually, I'm particularly fond of the shade on my blog background.

4.  What do you usually do with your hair day-to-day?
Well, on lazy days (read: most of the time), I just put it in a braid.  If by chance I'm feeling a bit fancier, though, I'll probably do a diagonal dutch braid ending in a side bun, or something of that sort.


5.  Pumps or flats?
Flats for everyday, pumps for Sunday.  Especially because they make me a bit taller, which is always appreciated.

6.  Cats or dogs?
I hate to be giving equivocal answers to all of these, but once again...both?  I had a dog once of which I was very fond, but I do like cats as well.  I just don't like it when they decide that they're too good to be petted.


7.  Do you like baking, or are you better at cooking?
Definitely baking.  I enjoy it more than regular cooking, and it generally comes out better, too.  I'm not very talented in the spicing department.


8. Would you rather work with paint or clay?
I'm gonna say paint.  Clay is messier and, in my opinion, more difficult - though I'm not much of a painter, either.  But I do like painting, even if my masterpieces could be mistaken for a ten-year-old's.

9.  What is the weather usually like where you live?
It's surprisingly rainy here in southern Virginia.  The sky is nearly always cloudy.  I don't mind, really, because after growing up in Germany, I rather like cloudy days.  They're sort of calm and cozy - but don't get me wrong,  I love sunlight too.  A shaft of sunlight just makes me think of Heaven.

10.  Do you have a favorite hobby?
 I have multiple favorite things to do, but I don't know if any of them could be considered a "hobby."  I guess editing pictures is the closest thing that I have to a hobby.  I also make poster-y things with photo editors and random quotes, like this:

My other activities include reading (and reading-related activities such as looking up little-known tidbits about books and drooling at library shelves), keeping a very irregular diary, and perfecting the art of procrastination.

11.  Where would you rather get lost: a craft store or a bookstore?
No hesitation here - A BOOKSTORE.  As a matter of fact, I recently had dinner with a friend I haven't seen in nearly a year, and after we ate we strolled over to Barnes & Noble, where we spent probably about two hours.  It was delicious.  (The B&N, I mean.  The food was yummy too, but the books were the icing on the cake.)

Well, that's it for this time.  I believe I still have two more tags to do...

Tag: Classic Books, Tea, and Sandwiches

This is what happens when you're lazy. Your tags pile up like crazy and the nice people who tagged you probably think you're ignoring their niceness. Bad Victoria.  So I have four tags to do, but I'll be good and put them in separate posts.  Also, I uh... *cough*...I will not be following any rules.  At all.  On any of them.  (Well, aside from answering the questions, of course.)  Sorry.  Don't execute me, please.

First from Elizabeth at The Endless Road:

1. I have heard it said that some people  don't want to read classics because they are too long. Yet some of these same people read Harry Potter(and those are not short books). Do you think is really the length of the book, or something else? 
No, I do not think that it's the length of the book at all.  I think it's the level and style of the writing.  I have never read Harry Potter, and never mean to, but I've come across excerpts and I've seen the writing level.  It's not that hard.  (Not bashing - the books were written for kids, so they can be excused for being easy reading.)  Classics, on the other hand, often have advanced vocabularies, as well as unfamiliar colloquialisms and antiquated styles.  They're usually not action-oriented, and sometimes they have a sleep-inducing amount of description.  (Yes, Dickens, I am looking at you.)

2. If you could pick a dead author to talk to who would it be: Jane Austen, one of the Bronte sisters, Mark Twain, or Thomas Hardy? 
Jane Austen, hands down.  She seems like she must have been such a funny lady.  I've never read Hardy, I have a healthy dislike of Mark Twain, and the Brontes scare me.


3. Do you have a favorite board game? 
Hmm....not that I can think of.  I like Battleship, but that's not really a board game.  Do checkers count?  I like that.

4. Who is your favorite actor? And what is your favorite character they have played? 
I like Richard Armitage and David Tennant.  Richard Armitage's best role was, of course, Mr. Thornton in North & South, and David Tennant...he was brilliant as the Doctor, and I also really liked his rendition of Hamlet.

 5. Do you think being a fan of Jane Austen is becoming/is a fad?   
Among certain groups, perhaps.  To be honest, I don't know.  I don't care, if it makes more people read worthwhile books.

 6. We all pick out names that we like that we say we will name our children. What are some of yours? 
Um...I don't think I've ever done that, so I'll make something up now.  Let's see...well, if I had children, they'd all be named after saints.  I should like one daughter to be Rose, another Imelda, maybe Catherine as well.  For boys, Paul and William and maybe Thomas.  There, that wasn't too hard.

 7. Would you call yourself a morning person?
DEFINITELY NOT.  No way.  Don't get me wrong, I love the early, peaceful sorts of mornings, but those are few and far between and soon over.  In normal life, I'm basically miserable until two in the afternoon.

 8. Tea or Coffee? 
 Tea.  There was a time when I would have said "both," (see here to know what I'm like when I drink coffee), but now coffee makes me inexplicably sick, so I just drink tea.  Anyway, tea is more refined and British-y and, let's face it, it tastes better.  So I'm not too bummed out about not being able to drink coffee - unless my mom starts making puppydog faces at me when she needs a coffee-drinking companion again.  Who know that drinking coffee was a social activity, right?

 
 9. Have you come across a book where you liked the movie version better?
 Nobody kill me for saying this, but when I first saw Prince Caspian I decided that I liked it better than the book. *cringes*  I know, blasphemy.  Allow me to say, however, that I no longer hold this heretical position, and I can proudly say that I have never harbored such thoughts in regard to any other movie.

10. What is your favorite place to read a book? 
Well, the best place ever is the novices' recreation room at St. Joseph's Novitiate, but at home, the best is lying on my bed with the windows open (not during the winter) with a snack of some sort.  I have a terrible habit of eating and reading at the same time.

11. Do you have a food that you don't like, but everyone else does? 
Do you know, I don't believe that there is a food in existence that isn't disliked by someone.  In general, though....I am a bit particular, but I don't think I have any extraordinary dislikes. Ooh, but I don't like condiments on sandwiches and I have to have the cheese melted.  I guess that's a bit odd.

Of Poodles, Pasta, And Tags

Once again I have been deluged in lovely awards by lovely people!

First:

The Versatile Blogger Award by the wonderful Clare of  Come Further Up!  I've already gotten this award, actually, but I don't mind doing it again.  I shan't pass it on, though, because I'm too lazy and I have seized on an excuse-- because it seems like overkill, since I've done it already.

The rules are to list seven random things about myself.

1.  I can go from long-faced and acting as if I'm under a vow of silence to hyper, talk-till-I'm-out-of-breath in about twenty minutes.  I can compare myself to a rollercoaster with much accuracy.

2.  I rather enjoy writing a lot of my English assignments - interpretive essays, some book analyses, a lot of the essay questions on the tests, etc.  I guess that's weird, isn't it?  One is not supposed to like such things. *grins*

3.  I have a thing for butterflies.  And peacocks, which is kinda awkward considering they symbolize vanity and pride.

4.  I have fuzzy brown hair which has been described by three people as looking like a poodle.  One of these people was my best friend. I now keep my poodle firmly braided or bunned. 
(Yes, I know "bunned" isn't a word -- that is, it wasn't till I made it up just now.)

5.  I can never fall asleep until 11:45 PM, and sometimes not until even later.  I blame it on the Puerto Rican party girl blood in me.  (Note: I am not to be described as a party girl.  Just half of my blood is.)

6.  The Italian half of me likes pasta.  A lot.  As a matter of fact, the Puerto Rican half of me likes pasta too.  All of me likes it.  Pasta is bliss.  I don't think you really cared to know that, did you?...

7.  My dream job is to be a librarian.  I even have the cliche spectacles and top-knot.

I was also given two awards by the Mad Elvish Poet, whom I mentally designate "Mep."  It's the initials of her pseudonym, don't'cha know.

 

You're supposed to tag five people with these.  Let's see...

Meggy at Magic, Ink, and Dreams (poor Meggy,..I'm always tagging her.)
Emily at Let Beauty Awake
Rosamund at Shoes of Paper ♥ Stockings of Buttermilk (Because I really REALLY love her blog)
The Kindred Spirit at A Trail of Flowers
I can't find a fifth.  Sorry.  Too late at night.  Must get post posted.

All righty then.  I'm done.  Thanks for tagging me, ladies. :)

Tagged!

Rosamund of the lovely blog A Wanderer in the Shadowed Land, as well as Magic, Ink, and Dreams' very own Meggy, have tagged me!

I feel rather popular, being tagged by two people at once.

So.  Rules and Restrictions:

1. It is imperative that these rules be plainly visible to all who can see and will see your blog. Therefore, post them at the top.
2. Because random facts about people tend to captivate interest, post 11 personal and insignificant facts about yourself. 
3. Answer your friend/acquaintance/fellow wanderer's 11 questions as well and as fully as you are able.
4. Ask 11 more questions on hopefully philosophical orotherwise thoughtful subjects.
5. Find 11 more  friends/acquaintances/fellow wanderers to tag--gently, please. 
6. Go to their blogs and inform them of the happy fact that they are now Officially Tagged and Must Do Your Bidding.

I have to inform people that they Must Do My Bidding? Oh dear.  I believe I shall rephrase that.  I haven't got the slightest problem informing my siblings of that all-too-ignored fact, (viz., that they Must Do My Bidding), but I shan't do it to normal other people.

And without further ado (though I dearly love ado), here are eleven insignificant facts about my insignificant self:

1.  I am deathly afraid of spiders.  Well, all bugs, really (except butterflies and ladybugs), but spiders....ugh.

2.  I just re-read They Came to Baghdad and have decided that it's my favorite Agatha Christie so far.  The fact that the main character's name is Victoria may or may not have a teeny bit to do with it, but seriously.  If you haven't read it yet, you Must Do My Bidding and go find it.  (What was that I said about not saying that, again?) It's got likely romance, unlikely romance, twists and turns, exotic locales, and everything else required of a good mystery novel.  It isn't very dark, but I do NOT have a problem with that.  Just warning you in case you were expecting that.  I don't like to be responsible for people's disappointments or mistakes.

3.  I have a strange tendency to wear lots of black.  There are plenty of colors I like, but I just seem to gravitate toward wearing black without thinking of it.  Maybe I'm a ninja in disguise.  Or...not in disguise, if I look like one.  I could totally pull off the whole black mask thing.  (KIDDING.) Anyway, ninjas don't wear skirts.

4.  I was editing pictures a couple hours ago, and for some reason where it says "save photo" I could have sworn it said "save POTO".  As in The Phantom of the Opera.  And I was like, "WHAT? WHY DOES THE PHANTOM NEED TO BE SAVED? O.O"  And then I realized two things.  One, that was crazy weird, and two, I may be morphing into a POTO fangirl.  But I still like Raoul better.

5.  I finally watched The Princess Bride a while ago.  I must say that I do like it, despite it's stupidity.  Buttercup annoys me, though.  And a chocolate pill that revives you from the dead?  Really?  Really?  

6.  Once I get an idea in my head, I get carried away by it and have trouble realizing that I could be wrong.  Yep, I know that sounds pretty prideful.  It is.

7.  My temperament is choleric-melancholic.  If you don't know what that means, you must once again Do My Bidding and look up the Four Temperaments.

8.  I have a newfound obsession with Capitalizing Certain Words.  It's really terrible for a grammar/spelling nazi like myself, but it makes me feel Very Old Fashioned and cute.  (By the way, I rather dislike the word cute.  It's just the only one I could think of right now.)

9.  I have a terrible habit of getting up Really Late.  (There's that pesky capitalization again!)  I shan't say how late, for fear of shocking my innocent readers.  It's a hard habit to break.  

10.  I like studying religion.  But I do not like religion tests.  At all.

11.   I don't like any test, really.  But I do like cheesecake.

Whew, I think I started to go a bit batty at the end there.   But darling, it might get worse, because I now shall answer not eleven, but twenty-two questions, since I was tagged both by Nessima and Rosamund.  (Aren't they both beautiful names?)

Rosamund's first:

1. What was the last book you read?
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  Yes, I have read the Hunger Games trilogy.  If I ever get time I shall write a review.

2. What is the best method of transportation?
Well, I once wrote an essay on the advantages of transportation via roller-skate, but that was just a form of rebellion against stupid essays, and I got a bad grade, even though I personally quite liked my essay.  In all seriousness, though, it depends on how far you're going.  For short distances, feet or a bicycle work wonderfully.  For long distances, I'm fine with cars and planes.

3. Who are your top three modernish authors and your top three classic authors?
Oh, dear. *flees to Goodreads*
Modern-ish: Lloyd Alexander, Agatha Christie, and the only one who isn't dead: Shannon Hale.  (We're gonna take Tolkien and Lewis as a given, here.  Plus I think they may be slightly older than these.)
Classic:  Um...let's say...Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Elizabeth Gaskell.  I daresay I could think of something more interesting if I tried, but I'm not trying.  Picking favorites kills me.

4.  How would you treat Gollum--as Frodo did or as Sam would?
I'm going to have to say as Sam would have.  Gollum disgusts me, and I am not known for forbearance.

5.  What do you love most about the place where you live?
That it's my favorite place in the United States.  It's Virginia, you know?  It's got plenty of trees, lots of flowers, friendly people, lovely Colonial architecture, rivers and a bay and part of an ocean.  It is was part of the Confederacy.  It's the South.  Oops, I forgot it was supposed to be what I love most.  Can't I love all of it most?

6.  What are your two most read books of the Bible?
The Canticle of Canticles and Ecclesiastes.

7.  What is the book you have read the most?
Oh, my.   Probably  Lord of the Rings.

8.  Why do you blog?
 Because it's fun, primarily.  Also, there are so many really nice Protestant blogs on the internet, I just felt like the Catholics need to show their existence a bit more. Finally, it's a way to occasionally attempt to bring others (and myself in the process!) more knowledge of traditional feast days and closeness to God.  And all this is without mentioning my desire to broadcast my other (unimportant) opinions, which I occasionally air for your entertainment (or derision).

9.  If you could rewrite any book, which would it be?
Well, I've often wanted to rewrite Middlemarch.  I wouldn't mind still having it the way it is, but I'd also like to have an alternate version where I make things turn out differently.

10. What is the brightest moment of your week?
Sunday Mass.

11. Your deepest fear?
 Deepest fear?  That I'll waste my life and have nothing to show when I die, then having to suffer the consequences.

Nessima's questions:

1.  What is your earliest childhood memory?
My earliest clear memory is of moving to Virginia for the first time.  I was three, and I remember jumping out of the car and running around the house looking into all the empty rooms.  I remember windows and sunlight and lots of white. It was the first time I was old enough to understand what moving was.

2.  You have a choice of being given any superpower; what is it?
Yikes, that's a hard one.  This may be cheating because it's not a traditional superpower, but I'd love to be able to always recognize truth, both in people's speech and in writing.

3.  Describe to me that outfit in your head, the one you wish you had so badly....
I love doing this.  I'll "make" a spring outfit.  There's a pale blue linen dress, with a swishy skirt and a fitted waist.  A big straw hat, with a wide black ribbon.  My hair done up in a low bun.  Dangly (but not too big) earrings, although I'm not sure that dangly earrings go with hats.  Black shoes with small solid heels that are somehow amazingly comfy.  Oh, and a book.  One I've never read before, with a pretty cover.

4.  What's your favorite instrument?  What comes to mind when you think of this instrument?
I love piano and harp.  When I think of the piano, I think open window, sunny afternoon, elegance, refinement.  For the harp, I think wistfulness, fairy-tale, elvish, soothing... I bet this isn't supposed to be just a collection of adjectives, is it.  Oh well.

5.  Would you rather be divinely beautiful, angelically good, or dazzlingly clever?
 Angelically good.  I'm serious.

6.  Are you more likely to be found in an old attic with your nose in a book, or will you be hanging out at the mall with your besties?
Old attic, no hesitation required.

7.  If you could have been born in any time period (other than your own), which would it be?
Another hard choice.  I'm thinking the High Middle Ages, so I could see what it was really like.

8.  Is your preferred weapon a bow and a quiver of arrows, or a magnificently wrought sword (you're allowed to be all clever and say "wit")?
I shan't say "wit".  I've got that either way.  JUST KIDDING.  If "rapier" were a choice I'd pick that, because I've taken more fencing lessons than archery lessons, and I actually enjoy fencing more.  But I couldn't handle a magnificently wrought sword.  Too heavy and masculine.  (Like rapiers are so feminine...but they seem more so than regular swords.)  So I choose the classic bow and arrows.  Those are safer, anyway, cause you're fighting from a distance.


9.  Your preferred mode of travel?
Answered that already in Rosamund's questions.

10. You hear about a new historical or fantasy movie that is coming out soon. You are:

a) Ecstatic: you're favorite dream-boat of an actor is in it!

b) Super-stoked: the book that it's based on is amazing!

c) Excited to see the costumes, of course!

d) Your favorite composer is doing the soundtrack.  Need I say more?

e) Going just to see the horses which will undoubtedly be gorgeous.

f) Not going at all; there's a new sci-fi thriller out that begs to watched!

 a, b, and c.  Sci-fi isn't my thing.

 11.  Of all the places in the world, the place you love most is:
Oh, my.  NOT New Jersey.  That's the only thing clear in my head.  Let's see, I love Germany and Switzerland and Virginia and forests and lakes and oceans and meadows and mountains.... the place I love most is the place where I'm happy, and I'm happy when I'm surrounded by the beauty of nature.  There, I believe I'm managed to answer and evade the question all at once. :)

Now I must ask eleven of my own questions.

1.  If you had a choice between spending a day in a mountain forest or at the seaside, which would you choose and why?
2.  How do you define true beauty?
3.  What's the one thing that, without fail, will always touch your heart?
4.  What's the one thing that, without fail, will always make you want to scream and yell and generally have a fit?
5.  What is your opinion on parasols?
6.  If an old guy in a pointy hat came to your door one fine morning and asked you to participate in an Adventure, what would you do?  Think about it, now!
7.  Poetry: hate it or love it?  Why or why not? (I sound like a test, sheesh.)
8.  Do you have any passages of literature memorized? Why did you choose to memorize it, if so? (Songs do not count.)
9.  What do you wish most to accomplish by blogging?
10. What do you base your like or dislike of a film on?
11.  Do you believe in the cliche saying "follow your heart"?  Why or why not?

There ya go!  Hopefully they're interesting enough.  Now to tag eleven victims fellow-bloggers. 

Imogen at Dancing with Dragonflies
Emily at Meaningful Words (Poor Emily is always the victim of my tagging!)
Jo March at Scraps from my Workbasket
Liz B at Sunny Side Up  (I'm not sure if she does tags, but I figured I'd give it a shot.)
Mae at Imaginations of a Princess
Miss Elizabeth at The Country Handmaiden
Grace at Puddles of Memories

I'm sorry, I know this is the second time I've "cheated"... I just can't find eleven people.  A lot of the blogs I follow aren't the "taggy" kind. :p  And I'm always nervous that they'll just think I'm annoying.

Well all that was fun.  Sorry it took so long!  I've been writing this post in small bits since Rosamund tagged me.

Triple Tag

Nessima of Nessima's Realm tagged me with three awards!  I'm so flattered!

Rules: share seven things about yourself and pass on the award to five other bloggers.

Seven things about me:

1.  I'm VERY VERY IMPATIENT. (Case in point: we're waiting to get our orders so we can finally move, and I'm about to explode from the suspense.  Almost literally.  I feel like strangling something.)

2.  I don't like listing things about myself.  (Okay, I know that's cheating...TOO BAD.)

3.  I like raspberries.  A lot.

4.  I sew skirts...occasionally.  (When I have nice enough fabric.)

5.  I don't...really...like....cooking.  *hides from the homemakers who come at me with frying pans*

6.  I consider myself a writer, but I've only ever completed poetry.

7.  I have a tendency to lock myself up in my room and lip-sync to the songs on my iPod.  It makes me feel like a famous singer.  Yes, it's strange.

THERE. Now I'm supposed to pass these awards on to five deserving bloggers.  This is very hard for me, both because I have to actually decide something and because I really wonder if it's just a bother to the bloggers I tag.  I don't like to be a bother.  So, if any one of you doesn't want to do the tag, don't worry about it.

1.  Tara Janelle of the stunning sewing/fashion history blog A Lass of Yesteryear

2.  Imogen of Dancing with Dragonflies

3.  Mary of My Sew Called Life

And, erm, I can't think of anyone else. *blush*  I'm in a hurry because I wasted enough time today...I'm supposed to be starting my book analysis on The Robe.  It's from tenth grade for heaven's sake.  REALLY should be done by now.

Stylish Blogger

I'm excited to announce that I won a stylish blogger award!

Isn't it lovely? *grin*

Now, maybe you're thinking, "oh, congratulations...but it's really not a big deal."  Okay.  Maybe not.  But see, I've seen these awards all over the place, and I always saw them as something that only professional, well-known bloggers got.  AND NOW I HAVE ONE!
Thank you so much, Imogen!  (And congratulations on your award, too.  I tried to comment on your blog, but I don't think it went through.)

Now I believe the rule is that I must tell you seven things about me...so here goes!

1.  I write poetry, occasionally.

2.  My favorite colors are green and blue. 

3.  I'm 5 feet, 2 inches tall.

4.  I wear skirts every single day.

5. I hate tennis shoes.

6.  I love Narnia and LOTR, and I despise Star Wars.

7.  My favorite subjects are English and history.

There.  Do you know how hard it is to think of seven semi-interesting things about myself?

Now I shall proceed to pass the award on to five lovely bloggers.

1.  The Catholic Young Woman.

2.  My mom at Mrs. Rabbit's Musings.  Not just because she's my mom, but because she writes on interesting topics!

3.  Shealynn at Shealynn's Fairy Shoppe.  I hope she hasn't gotten this award already...

4.   Annie at Pixels and Stories.  Such beautiful photography!

5.  Emily at Meaningful Words!

Thank you again, Imogen!