Day 18: Long term goals and dreams that I have.

My three biggest dreams are to get married, to become a youth leader, and music.
Getting married, well, that's every little girl's dream, isn't it? =)

Becoming a youth leader is really a big dream of mine... The past year we haven't had a female youth leader in my youth group (thankfully that is going to change) and it was a disaster. I really think that teenage girls need older women to mentor them and just to talk to (actually, I believe that about guys as well).

Titus 2: 1-5 says,
You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and endurance.
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teachw hat is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children,to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

We girls are emotional. We need to talk or else we explode (it's a little known proven fact). When girls don't have someone older and more experienced to talk to, it's even worse. Everyone needs a friend. And everyone needs someone to look up to.
I want to be that person. I feel such a strong connection to teenage girls. I want to be able to help them and help them get closer to God.

So there you go.

Music is another dream. I don't know what I want to do with music. Not teach. I just want to get better at it until I'm really super good.

And there are my long term dreams. You sure are learning about me aren't you? It's kind of awkward. What are YOUR long term dreams?

Live long and prosper.

"Do you have a blues band?" "Er, no..." "Too bad, he digs the blues."

"....and see me do some major dancing on your FACE!"

The Cosby Show: equals one of the best television shows ever. It's so good it deserves a double post day. And the theme songs rock as well. I can't decide which I like better.... Season 4 (which I posted above) or season 6 (which I am posting below). Listen to them both, which do you like better?

"That's the best elevator music I ever heard!"

You said it Cosby.

Day 17: Favorite books - not including classics.

Not including classics?? Sigh....

Well, the absolute BEST non-classical book series is, of course, The Adventures of Tintin.

 

I also enjoy Sharon Creech's books. Namely Replay, Ruby Holler, and Bloomability.

And "The Enchanted Castle" by E. Nesbit.

And "Journey to the River Sea" by Eva Ibbotson.

And (this could go on for awhile...) Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (although the sequels aren't all that great in my opinion).

And Watership Down by Richard Adams.

 

And there you have it! Some of my favorite books that aren't classics.

 

Live long and prosper!

Fish are friends, not food.

I couldn't resist.

Day 16: A short wishlist with pictures.

I like how they have to say a "short" wishlist.

Anyway, I don't want too much... I'm pretty happy. I wouldn't mind a few CD's so I guess that's what I'll post.

The Essential Glenn Miller. (Doctor Who made me remember how much I love this guy.)

Spiked! by Spike Jones. (It's not as bad as it looks... Well.... Haha. I'll just play a song for you after the picture of the album.)

The Doris Day Christmas Album. (Mostly for the song "Snowfall" which is my favorite winter song... Plus I LOVE Doris Day's voice!).

And finally.... the Soundtrack for Star Wars #4: A New Hope. (Star Wars has some of the best music ever created. John Williams was at his height when he wrote the music).

Yup, that pretty much sums it up.

Well... Except for this:

NOT the boat. Or the doll. The dress. I love that dress. It hasn't come out yet, though (6 more days!) so I'm not sure if it counts.... The dress reminds me a lot of one that Emma wears in Emma 2009.

Mixed with:

Soooooo pretty. I love the costumes from Emma 2009. I would wear every single one of them.

So long farewell! Thanks for all the fish! Live long and prosper!

Day 15: More music.

Put your MP3 played on shuffle and list the first 15 songs that play. I have a problem... I don't have an MP3 player.... I do, however, have music on my computer so I'll just shuffle my list and do the first 15 songs.

1. Love Me Do by The Beatles.
2. Almost Like Being in Love by Natalie Cole.
3. Call Me Irresponsible by Michael Buble.

This is gonna take awhile... While I wait I'll post some picture from the zoo! My cousin, two aunts, and two uncles were in town this past weekend and while the men went biking, the women and my cousin and I went to the zoo.

 

A lot of the animals were being fed while we were there. Although you can't see in the picture... A few crows and a giant seagull were eager to join in on the penguins meal.

4. All You Need is Love by The Beatles.

"Hahahahahahaha." The wolves were lying around like usual. They are soooo beautiful! I love them. Very majestic.

5. Orange Colored Sky by Natalie Cole.

The orangutans were hiding in their burlap sacks...

6. She Loves You by The Beatles.

Two pythons in one cage! They were HUGE! Pretty scary. Mom told me a story about how her boyfriend in college was coming to the USA from Peru and wanted to bring his pet boa constrictor along. So he wrapped it around himself, put a trench coat over the snake, and boarded the airplane. And the airline didn't even know. And he took it to school and it lived under his bed. I told mom that I was glad she broke up with him.

7. I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles (I have a lot of Beatles, ok??!)
8. Day Tripped by The Beatles.

Elephant!

9. The Man Who Knew Too Much Theme (from my Music to Spy By CD).

Then we took a break for lunch and crows were EVERYWHERE!!! I had a giant chocolate ice cream cone. It was yummy!

9. Thou Swell by Natalie Cole.
10. *skips a Beatles song for something more interesting* (I promise, I have more than just Bealtes on my computer! Like....) Tango Para Una Ciudad (2da parte) by Astor Piazzola (from the CD that came with my new saxophone book.)

Look at those paws. GIANT! This jaguar was sleeping right next to glass.

11. Data, Data, Data by Hans Zimmer (from the Sherlock Holmes movie soundtrack).

Pretty toucan. They were flying around and putting on a show for us. It was hard to get a good picture of them.

12. With a Little Luck by Paul McCartney.

This gal had fun eating an apple and then some broccoli... And then regurgitating the broccoli. And then eating it again. Repeat. Five times. It was gross. And quite funny as well.
In the background her friends were eating too.... Well, when they weren't staring at us.

 

 

13. Catatonic by Hans Zimmer (from the Sherlock Holmes movie soundtrack).

Red Panda! Which my cousin had just done a report on.

14. Avalon by Natalie Cole (I have a lot of her as well).

Savannah creatures.
Usually the hippos lie in one place and don't move. Not this time. I never knew that our zoo had two hippos... This time there was one in the water and one lying in the sun... But not for long! The one in the sun soon got up and walked into the water. I have NEVER seen a hippo do that before! It was so cool! Then he and his friend started talking to each other.

15. The Avengers TV Theme song from the Spy CD. What a pefect song to end with! I have never seen the TV show Avengers but I want to because it's about secret agents and has a SUPER COOL theme song!!

Looking back I have a lot of love songs on my computer... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not....

Now I shall leave you so I can go watch Star Wars #5.

Live long and prosper!

Day 14: A picture of my bookshelf.

Mwahahahaaa.... Neatly orginized.

Rats!

No, really, rats.
The fallen apples from the trees in our backyard have been attracting rats, although we only found out for sure tonight.
For the past few nights Rosey has been going crazy when she's let out. We figured it must be rats who like to eat the rotten fruit (Mom wonders why they don't eat the nice fruit off the trees. Dad replied by mentioning Templeton the rat from Charlotte's Web who likes garbage).
Tonight Rosey was going particularly crazy so I went outside and watched her snuffling under an old board. While she was at one end, a rat about the size of my hand (despite being a piano player, my hands are pretty small and it is impossible to keep my fingers curled when playing an octave) darted out of the bushes at the other end, ran across the grass and stone walk way, and behind the shed. Rosey didn't notice and I didn't wait around to see if she would pick up the scent. I dashed inside as fast I could go and relayed the tale to my parents. It was followed by many an "ew."
So about an hour later Rosey still hadn't come inside so Mom went out to find her because it was her dinnertime.
Suddenly, "Abbey, Abbey! Get the camera and come!"
So I grab the camera and head outside, followed by Daddy.
Our backyard is mostly grass, with an apple and plum tree in the middle, a garden off to the left, another apple tree to the right, and a shed in the back right hand corner. Behind the shed is another gardeny area which is home to weeds and a pile of rocks. Also back there is a compost bin. Rosey had somehow managed to climb inside. This is what happened....

Now my little ratter is "sleeping" underneath the coffee table, although I can promise you that if there is any scent of a rat or danger, she will be awake in a moment, ready to defend the house. Too bad Westley and Buttercup from The Princess Bride didn't have Rosey with them when they entered the Fire Swamp....

Now on to day 13 (I believe....) of the 30 day challenge which is, "You favorite picture (or five or nine)."
This is one of my most favorite pictures:

However my current desktop background is:

My favorite Van Gogh combined with the TARDIS. How perfect.

I also really like this picture of Allied paratroopers in 1944 dropping from their planes into a Germany-controlled Holland in an attempt to liberate the Dutch. It was called Operation Market Garden and it failed, sadly.

This is also one of my favorite pictures. I love Zoot. Mostly because of his saxophone and also because he is quiet. And I love his hair and sunglasses.

Continuing with the jazzy themed pictures.... The Rat Pack (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra). I get the feel from this picture that someone just made a joke and while Sammy Davis Jr. (middle) is laughing his head off, and Frank Sinatra (right) is laughing as well, Dean Martin (left) is making a witty comeback. Of course, I don't know if that's the truth... But I love Sammy Davis Jr.'s look.

And staying with the theme of music... Here is George Harrison from The Beatles holding a kitten. This is one of the most adorable pictures ever, if you are a Beatles fan.

And now two pictures from "The Hound of Baskervilles" done by Sidney Paget. I absolutely adore these pictures. The first one is of Watson and Sir Henry Baskerville when they see the silhouette of Holmes against the moon on the moor at night.
"....the figure of a man upon the tor."

The next one is similar.
Sir Henry Baskerville has gone to ask Beryl Stapleton to marry him, not knowing that instead of Stapleton's sister, she is, in fact, his wife.
Watson, who was instructed to watch Sir Henry at all times lest he should be attacked, has followed Sir Henry but stayed at a distance so the man can do his wooing in private. Watson isn't the only watcher though. Mr. Stapleton is nearby and comes rushing angrily in to break up the couple.
In this picture, you can see everything I just described and in the far background, the silhouette of Watson watching. I think that it is SO funny and odd that out of all the other scenes in The Hound, Paget choose to draw this one. I also think it is very funny that he included Watson! Can you spot him?

Now one final Sherlock Holmes picture from the TV show Sherlock. It makes me laugh every time I see it. This isn't how the scene goes in the show... I think this version is funnier.

Now I will leave because pictures are another thing I could ramble on and on and on about.

Live long and prosper and have a great week!