Good morning, friends! It's Saturday! Or... At least I think it is. It's much too dark outside for it to be truly considered Saturday, that's for sure. O.o But that's what happens when you book an early morning flight... Back home! :D

I'm quite excited to be returning back home for a lovely long Labor Day weekend! It'll be nice to see my extended family again, especially my relatives that love to get together this weekend. Perhaps I'll even get to see some of you? We shall see if things work out (I really mean it when I say it's a heavy-on-the-family-time weekend!)

Ok- question time. I fly Southwest fairly frequently, and I am a fan of their open seating, but my biggest question comes from their check-in system. I always make it a point to check in immediately... as apparently the rest of the world does as well. When I checked in for my flight, I was about 30 seconds late because of sleepiness, but somehow those 30 seconds were enough to  delay me all the way to B20! So I board after 80 other people... 15 of those people are business select class, and another undistinguished number of people pay for an earlier boarding spot. Did ~65 other people really pay to check in early/wake up super early to check in?! Who knows.......

Time travel! It's now evening- a whopping 17 hours after I woke up this morning, and I'm still going strong! I've gotten to spend some great time with my mom, uncle, and aunt today, and I'd forgotten how nice it is when other people cook for you instead of the other way around! Don't get me wrong- my cooking skills have improved tremendously in the last month thanks to my re-aquaintance with the Food Network (I'm now making an entirely new dish every weekend! :D). Still, there's something quite wonderful about having others love and care for you that much to make you full meals, just because. :)

Also, as I alluded to in the last paragraph, I am slowly but surely becoming a Food Network watcher again... specifically, I wish I knew Alton Brown. He's such a great nerd. He would also be the best mad professor ever. I'm not sure why I get that impression, but I do, and he's fantastic.

The song of the week comes from a band I just got to see play live last night in Columbus! O.A.R. (Of a Revolution) was performing at the Fashion Meets Music Festival (FMMF) on one of the main stages, and I quite enjoyed seeing them live! Believe it or not, the best part of the performance was when they highlighted some of their main (or guest? I'm not sure) members' instrumental talents with small solos, and man can those guys play the sax!! O.A.R. is best known for their song "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)", which I have posted below! Enjoy this trip back to 2008!

Much love,
Amber

"Shattered (Turn the Car Around)" - O.A.R.

Bonsoir, my lovelies! 'Tis Anna Beth! Since it's been a while, I'm sure I have plenty to fill you in on, because I've actually had a life outside of Bowling Green for a little while. That's right: I made it out for a bit. Last week, I was living in Louisville (at Jake's apartment) and working as a production assistant on a short film. I can't tell you an incredible amount about the film. Spoilers! But I can tell you that it's called Roman Citizen, and it involves a bank heist, which was a TON of fun to be involved with filming. Lots of extras, guns, and craziness! And what was my part in all of this, you ask? Well, as a PA, my job was basically to do whatever anyone asked of me. Mostly, I ran a lot of errands, from stopping in at Walgreens and Staples to dashing down the street on a quest for undergarments. I also served as a chauffeur, transporting people to and from set, to and from the airport, etc. It was unnerving, to say the least. There I was in an unfamiliar city with a dysfunctional sense of direction and strangers in my car, trying to get places on time. But it was completely worth it. I got to know a lot of great people as I drove them from place to place, and sometimes I even got serenaded! It was fantastic!
One of my favorite parts of the week, though, was something somewhat unrelated to my actual job. It was the independence of living in a different city, in an apartment and not at home with my parents or even in a dorm. I went to work, then went out and did whatever I wanted for a while before going back to the apartment. I didn't really answer to anyone, and I kind of got to make my own rules and be the only one responsible for me. And it was nice. I mean, I love my folks and all, but I'm ready to be out from under their roof. I'm ready to make my own way. It's gonna be good, I can tell. 
And how was living with Sara's boyfriend for a week, you might wonder? Well, definitely more fun and less awkward than I would've imagined. He introduced me to some...interesting...tv shows, we had private conversations that Sara will never know about (hahahahha), and we got along very well (except for when he compared Enjolras to Hitler, and then I revoked my approval of his relationship with Sara and his very existence, really). It was a good time, and I'm grateful that he was kind enough to let me stay...despite some of his ridiculous opinions. :P
The day I got back from Louisville, I began rehearsals for The Giver, and it's been a lot of fun so far. The kids in the play are really adorable, and they're better actors than I am, probably. By the way, you should all come see the performance. It'll be the 21st and 22nd of October.
 Ooh, and speaking of children, I got to hang out with British children (and their parents) this evening! Our friends Suzanne and Daniel, along with their three awesome sons, are visiting from England, and they're pretty much the most fun people ever. Jill and I have both decided that they're our role models, and for good reason! They're energetic, fun, and godly people. They have jobs; they have kids; and they make plenty of time to travel. They kind of have it all going for them. :)
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So, it's been a pretty good month so far: movies, theatre, British people...really all the best things in life. But life wouldn't be complete without binge-watching something on the internet, so now I'm going to ramble about my most recent entertainment kick: webseries adaptations of classic literature! We all know and love The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and chances are you guys have also seen Pemberley Digital's other Jane Austen adaptations, Welcome to Sanditon and Emma Approved (which I still need to finish). But I'm not sure how familiar you are with other webseries adaptations. I certainly had no idea there were so many until I dived into them this week. 
One I already knew about and have watched some of is The Autobiography of Jane Eyre. I haven't caught up with it yet, but since Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite books, I intend to continue watching the webseries. The overall look and production value doesn't quite measure up to the aesthetic of LBD, but it's still interesting to see a modern take on the story. And there are other adaptations that offer even more surprising takes on classic works. Sure, Austen and Bronte can be modernized and vlogged, but Shelley? Yep, Frankenstein M.D. is Pemberley Digital's newest creation, and for me, the verdict is still out on whether this series will be a monster or a masterpiece. The thought of Frankenstein as a vlog would be quite odd, and I guess Pemberley execs agreed, seeing as this series moves away from the traditional vlog style toward the realm of educational videos. It's a style that seems to work fairly well for now, and time will tell whether it all holds up once things take a turn for the undead.
Another unconventional series is The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy, based on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. It depicts the beloved characters as late-twenty-somethings who are still trying to figure out life, love, and growing up. From what I've seen so far, it's quirky and fun, and a bit nonsensical at times. The look is great, very professional, and there are some recognizable faces in the cast, like Kyle Walters, who you'll recognize if you watched Welcome to Sanditon, and Brennan Murray, who you'll swear you know from somewhere but won't be able to place.
The next two on my list are tales from the Bard himself. That's right! College students have been adapting some Shakespeare! If you're a fan of Much Ado About Nothing, you'll want to check out Nothing Much to Do, a vlog series complete with the fun of New Zealand accents! I haven't started binge-watching this one yet, but the fact that it was made by Kiwis can only help, right? The one I have watched (straight through in one night) is Jules and Monty, a college adaptation of Romeo and Juliet which replaces feuding families with feuding fraternities. And I know what you're thinking: Romeo and Juliet were stupid teenagers and no one really cares about their so-called love story. I know. Romeo and Juliet is the one everyone's read, but it's no one's favorite, and none of the adaptations I've seen--from the one with the Zac Efron look-alike to the newest movie with the True Grit girl--have made me actually care about the story that much. But this one did. A low-budget webseries produced completely by students at Tufts University captured my attention, and maybe it'll capture yours, too. It's not perfect, but it's absorbing, and it's interesting when they throw in whole passages from the original text alongside the modern dialogue. And honestly, this is what encourages me: university students creating something unique, fun, and smart; taking the trend set by professionals like Pemberley Digital and making something similar while at the same time making it their own. I'd say it's worth a watch.
Okay, just one more for good measure: A Tell Tale Vlog by Shipwrecked. It's less of a direct adaptation, but if you want to see what would happen if Edgar Allan Poe were a vlogger, go check it out. He's awkward, it's funny, and Shipwrecked is a cool channel that could use more recognition. 
So what about you guys? Have you seen any of these adaptations? If so, what did you think? If not, which ones do you think you might check out? Are there any I've missed that I need to add to my list? And what classic books or plays do you think would make great webseries adaptations? Let me know in the comments!

--ABG

This blog, like many great old-school Vlogbrothers videos, comes to you in four parts!

Part 1: We Were Liars. I was planning on doing a book review of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars today, but thanks to errands and possibly odd internal problems- I’ll discuss more later- I am not motivated to write out the review it so dearly deserves this week. Instead, I’ll just reiterate that OH MY GOODNESS YOU ALL NEED TO READ IT YOU WOULD LOVE IT PLEASE READ IT SO I CAN TALK WITH PEOPLE ABOUT IT OK THANKS BYE.

But seriously. Read it! You won’t regret it! :) To give you just a little sense of why I love it, I recommend reading the 6th chapter of the book. Don’t worry, you won’t have any problems jumping in there, but this chapter actually ends up being one of my favorites in the entire book… and possibly that I’ve read in a long time. LINK HERE. I recommend reading the first 5 chapters if you have the time- again, they’re not long, and you won’t regret it, but the 6th chapter is beautifully written. It just captures the main character’s (Cady’s) emotions so perfectly that it is so easy to understand everything she feels in that moment- and, in a way, we learn a lot more about her than more detailed descriptions ever could.

Part 2: Tiredness. Over the last couple of months, I have noticed myself becoming extremely tired. Typically this has been in the evenings after a long work day, so I had been just chalking it up to that (Isn’t that a great expression? “chalking it up”). However, I have also noticed myself becoming very tired on the weekends- or even on days where I didn’t do much of anything, and adding more sleep into my schedule hasn’t really helped. So more than likely, what’s going on is that my iron levels are low in my body, which is something I have actually noticed once before, in college. I’m going to the doctor this week to get my iron levels checked, so hopefully that’ll be it, and I’ll just start taking an iron vitamin again. :)

Part 3: Blog. So is this now “The Sara-and-Amber Blog”? ;) Lol, I honestly don’t care if you all blog every week or not, but it would be nice to hear from y’all every once in a while :)

Part 4: MUSIC! My goodness, I love music! And I love sharing my favorites from the week with you all. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do, and I hope you have been discovering new music this way too! The song of the week is quite beautiful- I especially like the lyrics “Is it that it’s over, or do birds still sing for you?” Plus Ed Sheeran’s voice gives me shivers. Enjoy! (The fat cat in the picture is great too!)

Love you guys! Have a great week!

<3,Amber

“Autumn Leaves” – Ed Sheeran

1. Christianity is about hatred and judgment

So much of the time it seems like people assume that making yourself part of a group involves hating and judging anyone outside of it. As Christians, then, we must hate people who are atheists or Muslims, people who are gay, people who are “sinners,” (read on to see that even Christians are “sinners") even sometimes people who are of different denominations.

And yet, anyone who has actually read the Bible should know that all these negative sentiments go completely contrary to everything in it. As just a few examples:

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

“You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39B

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” Leviticus 19:15

Everything about Christianity clearly says to love people and treat them as you want to be treated (“Do to others as you would have them do to you” Luke 6:31). That includes people you disagree with. People who hurt you. People you’re not friends with. People who are different from you. Everyone! Don’t hate. Don’t judge. Just love.

2. Christianity is about rules

I feel like I’ve seen several examples recently of people objecting to Christianity because of all the rules they feel like Christians have to follow. Don’t have sex before you’re married, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t cuss. If you’re a girl, don’t do this. If you’re a guy, do this. These people don’t seem to understand that Christianity isn’t about rules.

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” Galatians 3:10

Before Jesus, there were a lot of rules. There were entire books of all the things people had to do and not do in order to be right with God. You know what people quickly found out? They couldn’t follow all those rules. Because they were people (read: imperfect).

So what happened? Jesus happened. The only perfect human in the history of humanity came and followed the rules for us. Not only did He follow the rules, but He died as if He hadn’t. He was crucified as a sinner to free us from the law.

 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” Romans 6:14

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” Ephesians 2:8

So now we don’t have to follow rules. They will neither get us into heaven nor keep us out. The next point goes more into that.

3. Christianity is about being “good enough”

Going along with my previous point on rules, lots of people intertwine Christianity with this concept of being “good enough.” To go to heaven, they think, we have to please God. We have to be nice and friendly and godly. We have to embody love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23). In short, we have to earn our way into heaven.

You know how you can earn you way into heaven? Be perfect. You know how many people in the history of people have been perfect? If you’ve been paying attention, the answer to that question is one. And it’s not you.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8

“As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one;” Romans 3:10

None of us are perfect. None of us can do all the right things. None of us can be good enough for God. Again, though, as I mentioned in my last point, we don’t have to be! Jesus already was and is perfect, which means that now we don’t have to be. We don’t have to follow rules, we don’t have to do everything right, we don’t have to have unrealistic expectations for ourselves.

“In him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:7

The mentality of trying to be “good enough” will only do one of two things: it will make you feel depressed and inadequate, thinking you can never be good enough for God. Or it will make you compare yourself to others and judge them for all the things they’re doing that you think they shouldn’t be (See point 1).

You can’t be perfect, which means you can’t be good enough for heaven. But you don’t have to be! No matter how many bad things you do, how many good things you fail to do, Jesus is good enough, and that’s all that matters.

“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” Matthew 12:31

4. Christianity is about ANYTHING other than GOD

Basically, it seems like people over think things. They try to figure out what they have to do, how they have to think, who they have to be in order to be a Christian, and in doing so they completely miss the point of being a Christian.

Christianity is not about hating people who aren’t living their lives the way you think they should.

Christianity is not about restricting your life to this narrow set of behaviors and thoughts that are deemed acceptable based on your age, race, gender, or anything else.

Christianity is not about being perfect and earning your way to eternity.

Christianity is about God.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Once you receive God’s love and forgiveness, Christianity boils down to loving God, loving those whom God loves (a.k.a everyone), and living your life to the best of your ability in a way that reflects that love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7

Everything Leads to You
Author: Nina LaCour
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 320
Publication date: 05/15/14
Genre: YA Fiction

Summary:
Eighteen year old Emi works as a production design intern for a movie during the summer before her first year at college. Together with her best friend Charlotte, she discovers that one of America’s greatest Western film stars had a secret daughter- and granddaughter- that only she can track down. When she eventually finds this missing granddaughter Ava, Emi discovers that although their lives are as different as they could be, their circumstances and mutual loves lead to a quick friendship- and possibly more.

Review:
Honestly, I really, really wanted to like this book. I mean, come on- look at this cover. It’s gorgeous! (I always judge books by their covers…) I also really liked the behind the scenes look at the film industry and found out that, even though Emi’s job would seem easy (she chooses set pieces for a movie set), it is actually quite difficult. However, what overshadowed those bright points was the fact you could easily figure out the entire plot line for the “mystery,” and that was apparently a major plot point for the book. Oops.

I’m also kind of divided on the second reason I didn’t like the book. While I didn’t realize it going in, this book centers on Emi’s love life, and while I am really glad that there is finally a novel that doesn’t focus on Emi’s coming out and instead just lets her sexual orientation just be a fact, I became really annoyed during the first 5-6 chapters when all she would complain about was breaking up with her last girlfriend. I mean, come on. Yes, I’m sorry you broke up (for the sixth time), but if I really wanted to sympathize with how terrible you feel, I would watch Lifetime, not pick up a novel with a plot about the glamorous Hollywood film industry. However, I did quite enjoy Emi’s growth as a person by the end of the book, so overall, it’s an ok summer read. Just don’t get your expectations as high as I did because of the pretty cover. ;)

With that book finished, I actually moved onto reading a book I have been waiting to read for months- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Aaaaaaand I finished it in 5-6 hours. It’s amazing!!! I’ll review it next week with a small excerpt of the book that epitomizes how much I love it. What’s interesting, though, is the fact that one of my favorite sections- the excerpt I’ll hopefully share with you all next week- is strikingly similar to one section of Everything Leads to You. I’m wondering if one of the authors influenced the other or something similar… Have you all ever read a book that had plot points or sections that really reminded you of another book you had read before?

For a quick update on Amber’s life, I didn’t write a full blog last week because – as I noted in my tiny, tiny update blog- I had family come and visit from CT! It was a blast to be reunited with them after 6-7 years. My mom also came to stay for a week… which became 2 weeks after her car’s transmission went out. :( However, that meant I got to enjoy her and my dogs company for even longer! I really enjoyed showing my mom and my cousins around Columbus- I took them to The Book Loft- and we had a great time going to the zoo and renting a ski boat on a nearby lake. I went tubing for the first time! :D :D :D

Hope you all have had as great a couple of weeks as I had- and that’s the reason you haven’t blogged. ;)

Love you guys <3

Amber

PS- Love this song. It’s so catchy! Plus the lyrics “I’ll be your ghost, your game, your stadium, I’ll be your fifty-thousand clapping like one” have been echoing in my head for days...

“Love Runs Out” – OneRepublic

1. I was busy

I really was! I promise! I had a job interview that morning, plus another one the next day to prepare for, which was, you know, a little bit stressful and distracting. Then I think I went to Amy’s or something with Jill and AB, and I didn’t get home until after midnight, by which point it was sleepytimes and there were no thoughts of blogs in my head.

2. I had nothing to write about

Believe it or not, the thought did cross my mind several times last Tuesday. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been trying to do my blogs in list form this time around, just cause I thought it was fun and would be an interesting way to do a theme but still be able to talk about pretty much whatever I wanted. And last week I didn’t really have any blog topics jumping out at me. So I figured I’d just wait a little longer and see if anything hit me. Clearly, that strategy didn't work, or else I would have had a magical epiphany and given you all the weekly dose of Sara that your lives are not complete without.

3. I’d just finished bragging to Anna Beth about how I’m such a consistent blogger

It’s pretty ironic, really. I was literally just bragging (gloating, really) about how I’m the only one who never missed a blog last round (until it died, that is) and how I’m basically awesome. So of course it was time for my big head to get deflated a little bit. Life: keeping all our egos in check since the dawn of time.

So there’s my excuse(s) for the emptiness of the blog page last week. What are yours? :D

Love,

Sara

Because of family from CT and my mom being in town this weekend, I'm going to have to make a late blog post... probably Monday or Tuesday. But since others didn't blog this week, ... ;) Actually, I just want to try out the edit feature and see what day it will register my changes to the post as.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!!!

<3,
Amber

Geez.  Weebly sure has changed since my day.  I hardly understand this new-fangled thingitty.

I got bored with saying Hey and now I always say Heyyaaaa.  Sometiems heyya playa.  Anyway, it's caught on.  Now sometimes Dutch people ask if that's an American thing. 

No.  It's a Shelbs Magee thing.  And so is debuting on the blog like two months late.  Seriously.  I've tried.  And failed.  My personal blog is severely lacking as well.

Let's just say that life is crazy.

Since my other blog includes more personal, day-to-day, and thoughtful things, this blog is about music.

Music Mondays?  Is that too cliche?  So let me know what you guys would like, but I intend to pick songs that mean something to me and play them for you and maybe talk a bit.  This one got interrupted and I didn't have any time to re-record.

Love you guyzzzzzzz

I am super sad that this week will be my last week at my internship..the time here flew by so fast!! Do I want to be back in BG? Yes, but I also want to stay here :(

Unfortunately, I know that this week at KF will not be relaxing. The location we're at now was only a temporary one, but now we're finally moving to the new place! That means packing. Lots of it. To add to the confusion, Production is still in the middle of getting the Fall 2014 line produced, packaged, and shipped to our warehouse before moving on to retailers. This wouldn't affect me too bad, but most of their interns have left leaving one who (may or may not) come in on Tuesday and Thursday, so I'm probably going to be asked to do all their errands and whatnot.

Have I ever told you guys I love being Abby's intern? She keeps me busy, but doesn't run me ragged like Production or Sales.

My highlight of this week has been definitely the museums. I finally had a chance to go the the Natural History Museum and the Metropolitan.

They are both so amazing!! I could have easily spent another couple of days at each one. I also quite enjoy that they also only have a recommended admission price, so, in theory, I could have paid only a dollar or even a penny to get in.

Any last minute suggestions of things I should do before I leave?

'Allo, friends! Happy weekend!!! It's been a crazy busy week of work, so I have been enjoying having time just to read, relax, shop, and clean. Yes- clean. My mom's coming to visit tomorrow! I am excited to see her, but that means the dishes in the sink need to be washed, extra food needs to be cooked, laundry needs to be done, and my floors and counters need to be cleaned! Only about half of that is done right now, but eh. It's still looking pretty good. ;)

Anyway, today has been filled with exciting, upbeat, and energizing music to accompany me as I work, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites from today with you all! (Let's be honest: I just couldn't choose a top 5, so I ended up with 8... Just give 'em a listen as you please. ;)

Hope you guys enjoy the music! I'm thinking of making a playlist of all of the songs I feature on the blog this year... Opinion?

<3,
Amber