Sunday, October 30, 2011

Done with my paper--for tonight =/ it still needs a conclusion, but that's going to have to happen in the mmorning.

Friday, October 28, 2011

dreaming big tonight... honestly, right now I don't know how my sleeping dreams could top my dreams in waking hours.

ever get the feeling that your whole life course may change??
Such a big day. My credits from Oxford finally transferred over and should show up on my transcripts. And, I got to meet with the Office of Merit Scholarship to talk about funding ideas for grad school. Crazy! This looks like it will be a long but insanely good process =)

On the docket for tomorrow: My first--yes first--Husky Football Game!!!!! Go Dawgs!
Book Idea:

Take all the characters in English novels who have claimed something to the effect of: "I am the unnhappiest of men/women" or "no creature had ever been so miserable as I was" etc... and put those characters on trial. Then we can find out by comparison which fictional character was really the most miserable. We could in fact have 1st place, 2nd place, and honorable mention.

But then the others would need to go away and stop claiming to have the worst life.

Which characters do you know who have claimed that? Off the top of my head:
Caleb Williams
Victor Frankenstein
The Creature [I'm beginning to notice a family pattern ;]
Marianne Dashwood.

Sidenote: Some of the characters who I think may lay the best claim on the title, don't.

But go ahead, tell me who you know thinks they're unhappiest--and who really is??

Take these hands
I know they're empty
But with You they can
Be used for beauty
In Your perfect plan
All I am is Yours

Take these feet
I know they stumble
But You use the weak
You use the humble
So please use me
All I am is Yours

I give You all my life
I'm letting it go
A living sacrifice
No longer my own
All I am is Yours

Take this heart
Set it on fire
Shining in the dark
I wanna tell the world of who You are
All I am is Yours

I lift my hands up
God I surrender
All that I am for Your glory,
Your honor, Your fame



I give You all my life
I'm letting it go
A living sacrifice
No longer my own
All I am is Yours

I give You everything
To You I belong
Every beat of my heart
The breath in my lungs
All I am is Yours


- "All I am is Yours," Phil Wickham



Getting major revelation on race and gender in Frankenstein! I am loving this =)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011



[overlooking Oxford: All Souls College, Radcliffe Camera, St. Mary's of the Virgin, Christ Church Cathedral]
Considering taking 3 lit classes next quarter. Am I crazy? Yes and I love it!






Total nerd moment - I'm about to read my first article from Gilbert & Gubar's "Madwoman in the Attic." To me, this is momentous!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Really missing all of these lovely ladies and our incredible times together!

[from left to right: Amanda, Maia, me, Kristina, Stephanie, Elizabeth, and Cathleen]

[Cathleen, bending down... she's really a foot taller than me =]

[one of the happiest moments of my life]


[Emily and Cathleen... we love our red-heads!]




[Kristina and I at Vaults and Gardens Cafe--favorite!]


[Stephanie Downing at Downing Street, London]

[Amanda Bennett at Bennet Street, Bath]


[221 B, Baker Street =]


[from Merton College quad, overlooking Christ Church Meadow]

[Last night together with such good friends]


Sunday, October 23, 2011

I am so dependant on the Lord right now, and that's a beautiful thing.
I'm in the middle of working on an annotated bibliography for William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. This was, honestly, the hardest book I've ever read. It was beyond confusing. But I've found that makes reading criticism more interesting. So I have to read and analyze at least 10 pieces of criticism for the bibliography (I've read 8).
As soon as I'm done with that, I get to dive into a paper on Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. I'm actually looking forward to that one. I just don't have a lot of time to invest in it. But it should still be really interesting.
The really good news is that there is a light at the end of this tunnel: Jane Eyre. I read it for the first time last Christmas and I cannot wait to fall in love with it again (this time for a class). And my professor is the coolest--he is actually the editor for the Norton Critical edition for both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Yes... in lit-nerd terms, that means he is amazing!
In the midst of all of this, I've kind of gotten sick. It's been getting worse over the last few days, but today it really hit =/ This isn't very good news, but, hopefully it won't affect school or work too much.
Just one more thing to trust the Lord with right now.

Via Ashley

:)

Friday, October 21, 2011

At home by myself tonight with some good music, favorite candle and a long assignment for English Honors. Only wishing for some chai...
Gotta <3 fall =)

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Featured Artist:

Gungor

[Ghosts Upon the Earth]

I've been in love with this album for a while now; but the more I listen to it, the more I appreciate its intricacies--poetical, musical, and otherwise.
From Let there be Light on-wards, it is such a treat. I think artists are always attempting to create holistic and cohesive albums--ones where you can't just listen to one song or put it all on shuffle because the flow is too precious to divide up. This goal is becoming increasingly harder in the age of iTunes, but Gungor really achieved it on this album.

A few lyrical delights:

"All praises to the One who made it all
who made it all
All praises to the One who made it all
and finds it beautiful
...Fearfully and wonderfully and beautifully made"
- Crags and Clay

"Where it comes flowers grow
Lions sleep, gravestones roll
Where death dies all things come alive..."
- When Death Dies

"When you first regarded me
Your eyes filled me with grace
Thereby again my eyes
Merited to adore you
Vous etes mon coure
You are my heart."
- Vous Etes Mon Coure
[yes, the chorus is in French,
yes, its a duet
and yes, its Michael and Lisa Gungor]

*   *   *   *   *

You should really look into this album (also available on grooveshark) and you can read more about the inspiration and musical achievements on Gungor's Blog.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Trabant. Divine "creamy chai." Jazz favorites. 45th & University Way. New favorite. Monday smiles.

Saturday, October 15, 2011



Coriolanus (2011)
Directed by Ralph Fiennes
Starring:
Ralph Fiennes
Gerard Butler
Vanessa Redgrave
Jessica Chastain [a new favorite of mine]

Gotta love creative Shakespeare adaptations =)
The lovely Jessica Brown-Findlay [Sybil Crawley, Downton Abbey]

Friday, October 14, 2011

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

As I walk around campus, I have to keep reminding myself, "You are not going to run into of your friends from Oxford. They're all far away. So stop looking" =(

Monday, October 3, 2011

First off, I just have to say that my sister's know me well. Today I received emails from both of them containing the same link to the same blog on a scarf tying tutorial. Gotta love sisters (and scarves!).

Thanks so much to them... and here's a shout out to their blogs The Bakers and Beyond the Mountains =)
They are both such incredible women and I'm so, SO grateful to both of them!




[ps... these are all really old pictures, but I love you both even more now then I did then =]


Also... it, being monday, I thought I'd share this amazing little piece of inspiration. Enjoy:

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Ok... I have a headache from laughing so hard this evening. So grateful for my family!

Side note: thus far, English honors has been going better than expected. The first novel we've been reading is gripping and its making rethink my stance on contemporary literature, at least a little bit.