Hello from an absolutely gorgeous day in September! The weather here is beautiful: the sun is shining, there are a few fluffy clouds in the sky, there’s a light breeze, and it’s a perfect 80 degrees. Ah- bliss… Today all of the windows have been thrown open, and my screen doors are free to the world. I am truly enjoying this wonderful day!

With many thanks to Anna Beth and Jill, who brought up 4? boxes of books when they visited that I couldn’t initially bring up myself, I had many more books to fill my bookshelves in my apartment. However, that was not the extent of my full book collection, and when my mom visited in August, she brought up the rest of my books. Now my bookshelves are overflowing!! :)

I’ve taken today to finish organizing my bookshelves, and I thought it’d be fun to share a few of my childhood favorites that I’m re-remembering with you all! I’ve also had a fantastic week with regard to discovering new, fantastically diverse music, so I want to share some of my favorites with you all here too! Without further ado…

• The Scarlet Slipper Mystery –Carolyn Keene
  I loved growing up with the Nancy Drew mystery series! I have so many different release versions of book in the series, and I love them all dearly. Many were passed down to me from family member to family member… I love the classics! This particular mystery was one of my favorites in the later series, purely because of the following passage:
  
  They had not gone far when Nancy asked for an explanation of what he had done.
  “I don’t trust that guy,” Ned replied.
  “But what was the idea of giving him an impression like that?”
  “Impression like what?” Ned asked in some surprise.
  “Anyone who heard you would think we’re husband and wife. Especially a man like Renee.”
  Ned laughed heartily. “Well, someday I hope it’ll be true. And for your information I hope he’ll think we’re married now. If he’s a spy or a kidnapper, as I suspect, he’d better not find out your name is Drew!”
  
  Nancy + Ned = Forever. They truly were my first OTP.
• Into the Wild – Erin Hunter
  This first book of the Warriors series was a reward from Barnes and Noble for completing the library’s summer reading plan! I remember having a shelf of books to choose from and choosing this one about cats, never realizing that it would be the start of an amazing series!! I wish I was in Thunderclan…
• Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
  I “inherited” the unabridged version from random relatives when I was 6 or 7 and loved reading it, even if I didn’t quite understand all of the words. The fantastically clever ending makes me smile every time I read it. :D

To the music!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaand if this blog was too long...

TL;DR: I leave you with this- my favorite new song discovery from the week. It’s a rustic folk classical song by Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile on their album The Goat Rodeo Sessions. This is actually a video of them performing it in a studio- watch and be amazed!!! If you only listen to one of the above songs, LISTEN TO THIS ONE! (/watch too!)

Love you guys!
Amber

“Attaboy” –The Goat Rodeo Sessions

Dearest Bloggers,
Greetings from Bowling Green. Today I ate an octopus tentacle. It was chewy but rather tasteless. 

Anyway, as usual, there's really no point to this blog post. I'm just rambling, as I do. 

Random Things I Feel Like Telling You:
-My cat Tinkerbell is the cutest animal on the planet. Just saying.
-I'm actually glad my parents never got me that puppy they sort of promised. See, I was supposed to get a puppy if I went to WKU (*coughasabribecough*), but I never got it. We did, however, acquire quite a few more cats in my college years. Anyway, I've been puppysitting for a friend, and her puppy is adorable! But puppies require a lot of work. They're not independent or aloof like cats. I haven't had a dog in so long I guess I'd forgotten how to relate to them. I love dogs, don't get me wrong. But cats. CATS. 
-I started reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life for my new devotional this morning, and then I remembered, oh yeah, we met him. Remember that? On the road trip? He hugged us. That happened. Weird. Anyway, hopefully he'll tell me what my purpose is. That'll be fun. (Just kidding, of course. That's for God to tell me.)
-Yesterday's rehearsal for The Giver was fun and hilarious because the actors who play my daughter and my husband got the giggles, and they couldn't stop, and pretty soon half the cast were laughing and no one knew why. I guess you just had to be there. But it was priceless. We just stopped after a while. Rehearsing, not laughing. We just ended early because nobody could keep it together. Hopefully that doesn't happen on stage!
-There's a fancy theater in Atlanta where my cousins go see shows sometimes, and they're doing Phantom of the Opera, and I wanna go. But money.... =P
-I love the sound of old movies playing in the other room. Like right now, my parents are watching some old technicolor movie on TCM and it just sounds nostalgic, even though it's from way before my time.
-STARS, guys. Go outside and look up at the stars. I love them.
-My favorite customers at the restaurant told me that there's a song called "Anna Beth." That's my name! Too bad they were wrong, and it was actually "Sarah Beth." Oh well, the girl in the song had cancer anyway. If there's a song about my name, I'd prefer it not be depressing.
-I finished reading We Were Liars. READ. IT. NOW. Oh my goodness. I can't even say anything, except just read it! Don't just put it on your list. Put it at the TOP of your list. It's worth the read.
-Have you guys heard this song? It's awesome!

Post-song-break continuation of random thoughts:
-It's officially fall now! "Fall is here! Fall is here! It's a wonderful time of year!" (Yes, quoting a song from Rugrats, if you're wondering.)
-You know what one of the greatest things about fall is, besides all the pumpkin spice and the gloriously crisp chill in the air and Halloween and everything else amazing? The return of so many television shows! Downton Abbey's back (well...I mean in Britain...hehe...), and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Oh the feels!), and Once Upon A Time comes back on this Sunday, and Doctor Who is already on. And Reign is coming back soon (I'm both excited and horrified!). Perhaps I get a bit too excited about television...Nah! So what shows are you guys excited about coming back or premiering this fall? If you're looking for one to watch (besides the aforementioned ones, because they're great and you should watch them), I'd recommend Selfie, starring Amy Pond and Sulu...I mean Karen Gillan and John Cho. I knew Karen Gillan was going to be in a new show, but I hadn't really heard much about it. But you guys...It's a modern social-media-aware sitcom adaptation of My Fair Lady / Pygmalion. YOU GUYS KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT MODERN ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSIC LITERATURE! SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!! :)  Anyway, the pilot episode is on Hulu, so I watched it, and I'm actually quite fond of it so far. You guys should give it a try. 
-The International Festival is this weekend! Yay!
-Jill's now helping out backstage for The Giver! Yay!
-And now all that's left to say is, here's this week's Theatre Thursday selection: part of Lea Salonga's audition for Miss Saigon, from when she was like 16 or 17! It's cute, and she sings like an angel. Also, Lea Salonga grew up to be the singing voices of both Jasmine and Mulan (in addition to, you know, becoming a musical theatre superstar)!

Bonus: Lea Salonga also covered "Go the Distance" from Hercules, because she must sing ALL THINGS DISNEY!!!!

Until next week, guys. Go the distance.
-AB

Hello from my continued existence. I’m pretty sure this question thing isn’t going to get anyone else back into blogging, but here it goes anywayyyyy.

1. What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memories are of the first house my family and I lived in, which we rented in Louisville. I remember the walls being brick, and a picture of my papaw in a black cowboy hat hanging on one living room wall. I also remember testing a pair of my Barbie scissors out one day and running up to my mom in the kitchen, all excited to tell her “it cuts people hair too!” Needless to say, this news did not make her very happy.

The last thing I remember about that house was leaving it. That was when we moved to E-town, and I was about four-and-a-half. It was winter time, and I waved good-bye to the house as we drove off.

2. Tell me about your most embarrassing haircut (bonus points if you have pictures!). 

Umm… surely you guys remember that I had straight bangs for the better part of 20 years, right? Soooo take your pick.

3. If you could only eat one fruit for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

Now when we talk about eating fruit, that means I can still have whatever fruit juice I want right? If that’s the case, then I’m torn between strawberries and apples. Strawberries are delicious, but I also really like applesauce. That’d be tough to give up.

If fruit juice is included, then I’d have to go apples. They’re just so diverse. I can’t give up apples AND applesauce AND apple juice. It just can’t happen.

4. What books have impacted your life and why?

Well, even though Amber already gave this answer, I have to agree that the Bible has had the biggest impact. It influences how I try to live my life and the person I aspire to be.

In addition, I’d have to say the Harry Potter series, seeing as I’ve read them more times than I can count (to the point that rereading some of them now gets hard because I have somewhat memorized every scene that comes up…), watched all the movies, written fan fiction, wished to go to Hogwarts, and am currently caught up with the story on Pottermore. Plus I was a little devastated that we couldn’t go to Harry Potter World on our spring break trip to Florida last year.

Finally, a book called Teach like Your Hair’s on Fire had a pretty big impact on me. It’s written by an amazing and dedicated teacher out in California, and it gives a lot of suggestions for making an effective classroom. I’ll be lucky if I can ever be half the teacher he is.

5. If you had to be famous for something, what would it be?

Being a super awesome teacher. Or maybe writing a book. Ooh, writing a book about how to be a super awesome teacher. Best of both worlds!

6. Name three places you want to go before you die.

Fortunately for me, I got to go to several of those places over the spring! Unfortunately for me, there are so many more places :/

The top three that I haven’t gotten to visit and reeeeaaalllllyyyyyyy want to before too long are Venice, Edinburgh (or anywhere in Scotland), and Wales. In case you’re curious, third was a struggle between Wales and all of Ireland. Wales only won because I haven’t been there yet. But I definitely want to go back to Ireland and just explore everywhere.

Ooh, I just realized this includes places in America like Disney World and Harry Potter World…

Ok, so my new top three list still includes Venice and Edinburgh, but Orlando is taking the last spot.

7. What's your favorite song at the moment?

This magic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc

Seriously. It’s like the anthem for grammar Nazis everywhere.

8. If you got a tattoo, what would it be and where?

I agree with Amber that tramp stamps are kind of cool if only they didn’t have that association. Especially since, as an aspiring teacher, I can’t really have anything visible, and so lower back would be a really good place to put one. Aside from that, though, I’ve always thought it’d be cute just to have a little heart or something simple on my ankle.

9. Tangled or Frozen?

Tangled. They’re both adorable and wonderful, but you just can’t beat Flynn and Rapunzel <3

Hello from the land of the WEEKEND, friends! I can't tell you how happy I am that it's the weekend.... Well, on second thought, I can. That's the point of this blog! I missed my first blog since we started this project last Saturday. It wasn't for lack of thinking about blogging, as I remembered to blog about 10 times that day. However, I actually spent 12 hours last Saturday in front of my computer doing work for my job. I then spent another 6 hours on Sunday continuing said work. It was mayhem, but you know- it needed to be done. What's a girl to do with deadlines?! So I presume that's as good of an excuse as ever.
I was quite intrigued that my twin gave us a format for blogging this week! So glad to see you back, friend! Without further ado, my answers:

Q: What is your earliest memory?
A: I have two answers to this. My actual earliest memory is the only memory I have of my grandfather. I was sitting on his lap and and laughing with him and then went over to see one of his beautiful 2 ft hand crafted boats he made. His hobby was to make these elaborate and delicate boats and planes that were exact miniatures of real military boats and planes. They were gorgeous, and after his death, some of them went to a museum in DC.
My other answer is the memory that I always think is my first memory until I remember that being with my grandfather would have had to have been first. It's me at Disney World, riding the pirates ride that existed before the Pirates of the Caribbean series rides were created. :D

Q: Tell me about your most embarrassing haircut (bonus points if you have pictures!).
A: Ugh. I'm pretty sure I've told you guys that when I was little, I had really straight hair. I remember one time when I was 7 or 8 that my mom had me get bangs, even though I absolutely hated them. They looked terrible on me because my face still had child chubbiness... I was so happy to grow them out, but as I was doing so, I had to use these terribly ugly barrettes and clips. I guess this is really a terrible hair experience more than an actually embarrassing haircut, but it was still just terrible.

Q: If you could only eat one fruit for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
A: I almost said oranges, but I'm choosing grapefruits. I love the taste and texture of grapefruit, as well as the sourness of the juice. Yum!

Q: What books have impacted your life and why?
A: Um, all of them? Because I love to read?
Non-cop-out-answer: Seriously, though, every book I have read has impacted my life. Every time you can experience another person's thoughts and dreams is an amazingly precious gift, and it offers you another way to experience the world. That's why I love to read.
Real-non-cop-out-answer: The Bible, as it provides me with the basis I need to live my life and has given me more than I could have ever imagined. At Home in Mitford and the entire Mitford series by Jan Karon, as it reminds about the realness of people and that even weird little problems are still problems that are ok to spend your time solving. The Giver by Lois Lowry, as it gave me my first glimpse into the idea that other people live lives and view the world differently than I do. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, as it shows me what love is and can be. (Also, it's my current (re-)read, so it's impacting my life right now. I really love that whatever I'm currently reading creates such an impact on my day-to-day life.)

Q: If you had to be famous for something, what would it be?
A: Singing. I still want to be a pop singer... or maybe a country singer... or maybe Taylor Swift, since she can't seem to decide which one of those she is. Just saying.
Also, I'd love to be an author, but I'm not sure I'd want to be a famous author. Just best-selling. Assuming it's possible to have one of those without the other?

Q: Name three places you want to go before you die.
A: Indonesia. England. California.

Q: If you got a tattoo, what would it be and where?
A: Ha! So this is my actually embarrassing answer. When I was younger, I really wanted a small butterfly or swirl design or something like that on my lower back... Then I realized they were called tramp stamps. Let's be honest: If they weren't associated with such a negative connotation, I would probably have one now.

Q: Tangled or Frozen?
A: Tangled! :D

Aaaaand I reversed the order of one question to match my favorite part of my blogs:
Q: What's your favorite song at the moment?
A: My favorite song at the moment- and thus, the song of the week- is "Holy Grail" by Justin Timberlake. Actually, I had to go back through my last blogs and make sure I hadn't chosen it before, as it's been my song of the last few months... primarily because of the hook:
And baby, it's amazing I'm in this maze with you
I just can't crack your code
One day you're screaming you love me loud
The next day you're so cold
One day you're here, one day you're there, one day you care
You're so unfair, sipping from your cup 'til it runneth over, Holy Grail

Also, I prefer the version without Jay-Z. Enough said.

Love you guys! I hope to read some awesome blogs this week!
Amber

"Holy Grail" - Justin Timberlake

Hello from Anna Beth. On Thursday. Like it's supposed to be. We're kind of awful at this whole consistent blogging thing. But let's give it another try. What do you say?
So, like Amber's blogs and old school Vlogbrothers videos, this post comes to you in multiple parts.

Life Updates: 
Same old, same old, I guess. I'm working part time at Beijing Tokyo and not hating it. I'll be working at Target soon, though, as a seasonal cashier or sales floor person or something. I like Target. I want all their scarves, and soon I'll have access to employee discounts!
Also, I'm still rehearsing for The Giver, which is lots of fun. I love theater, you guys. Just being a part of how it all comes together is thrilling, and I love to watch people act. Our cast is good. It's gonna be a good show. My children are adorable!
On another note, Amy has been confirmed alive. I asked her mom today, and apparently she's very busy with school but she's having a good time. I have a number where you can call her in China, too. If anyone's interested in calling mega-long-distance, message me on facebook for the number.

Currently Reading:
So I'm reading a couple of books that have been suggested to me, and they're both amazing. The first is Love Does by Bob Goff. Shelby tried to get me to read this book over a year ago, and I've just now gotten around to it. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?! IT'S AMAZING! It's nonfiction, Christian inspirational awesomeness! Bob Goff basically just tells some of the really crazy, unconventional things he's done in life and how his experiences have pointed him to Christ. And it's the most upbeat, motivating, and freeing Christian book I've ever read. There are important implications without guilt. It really drives home the point that God gives us passions and wants us to live whimsical, unconventional, bold lives. It's wonderful and just pure fun.
The second book I'm reading is We Were Liars by E. Lockheart, recommended by Amber. I just started it last night, and I really couldn't put it down. It's a fast-paced, compelling read. I'm not terribly far along yet, because I had to sleep and work and things, but I'll finish it soon, Amber. Then we can talk about how great it is.

Future Plans:
So I'm sure all of you have heard by now, but Jill and I are trying to move to Ireland in the beginning of 2015, Lord willing. London is also on the table if we can find internships, but I'm not sure about that one. Ireland, though. We could live in Ireland next year. Come visit! We'll travel the world together.

Your Homework:
Yep. That's what I said. You have homework. I kind of refuse to let this blog die, so I've come up with a list of questions for you to answer in your next blog posts. I mean, half the effort of blogging is coming up with something to say, right? So I've really done the work for you. Just answer these random questions and viola! Instant blog post!
1. What is your earliest memory?
2. Tell me about your most embarrassing haircut (bonus points if you have pictures!). 
3. If you could only eat one fruit for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
4. What books have impacted your life and why?
5. If you had to be famous for something, what would it be?
6. Name three places you want to go before you die.
7. What's your favorite song at the moment?
8. If you got a tattoo, what would it be and where?
9. Tangled or Frozen?

Theatre Thursday
Remember how that was going to be a thing? Woops.
Anyway, this week's Theatre Thursday video is...wait for it...from Les Mis. Okay, I'll stop. But really, you just need to experience this clip from a London 2008 production. If you want the short version, skip to Drink With Me at 5:55 and watch to the end. Just...enjoy. You'll understand when you see/hear Marius and his lonely soul. It cracks me up every time. 

Anyway...there's that. So, have a good week. Actually blog this time. Answer my questions! I'm looking forward to reading your posts! :)

Love,
AB

Saturday!!! ‘Allo, friends! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling… (Fill in the blank with an appropriate Taylor Swift song that seems to be constantly in my head.) ;) I had a wonderful birthday- thank you all for your sweet birthday wishes! :)

Garden mums, hibiscus, snapdragons, and roses are all growing on my porch now! I decided to celebrate my birthday by purchasing more flowers to brighten up the space and my days. Mark even bought me roses- I have quite the flower-filled apartment! One of my favorite memories from being younger was getting the “discounted” flowers from Lowe's discount racks. They often looked like they were dead, but the majority of the time a lot of water and love helped them come back to full health. I did that with these as well… We’ll see how they do!

Before I forget, I wanted to give a quick update on a post I did a couple of weeks back, where I said I felt really, really tired all of the time and was going to go to the doctor to get blood tests done. It turns out everything is normal- all of my blood work came back fine! I have tried changing my diet a bit recently to add more nutrients and variety of things, so perhaps that is helping. I am feeling better, so that’s a good thing. It’ll be an interesting thing for me to track over the next couple of weeks.

Weekends are great, aren’t they?! I’ve been using this one to catch up on sleep, cleaning, and all of those fun little tasks that keep getting put off during the week, like going to the bank, grocery shopping, organizing my bookshelf, sewing… There’s always time on the weekend to do fun things! I love the relaxed pace of them, but they always seem to be over sooner than I expect. Still, after a long (4 day) week, it’s nice to have more relaxing days.

Reading is a thing! It’s so nice for me to discover books I’ve purchased for $.50 but have never read and get super excited to read them! I’m currently reading (ok, re-reading for the third or fourth time, but the first time for a copy that I own) The Notebook, and it’s even sweeter than the movie. Sometimes you just need a Nicholas Sparks book…

GMAT tutoring: I just started tutoring someone to help them prepare for the quantitative section of the GMAT exam (which is used to get into business school/to get your MBA). Even though I haven’t taken the test, I’m still able to help her prepare for the problems she’ll see on the exam and hopefully give her a few tricks to get back into the swing of things again. The problems are similar to those on the GRE, but there’s an interesting section called “Data Sufficiency,” where the entire point is not to solve the math problem but to weigh facts and see if those facts would make the problem solvable. It’s quite an interesting way to do things! I’m considering going for my MBA in a year or so, so this is good practice for me too. Plus, a little extra spending money never hurt…

‘Till next week my friends! I hope you’re all doing well, and I’m so glad I got to see a couple of you when I was visiting home last weekend. Hopefully I’ll get to see all of you again soon!

We have a Hunger Games song of the week! I didn’t realize this song was from the Catching Fire soundtrack, as I first heard it on Dancing with the Stars. What’s more odd is that the song is apparently on the Assassin’s Creed Unity trailer… (Fun fact- I’m quite a fan of the Assassin’s Creed series, despite never playing anything but the AC Pirates game on my iPad, as they never released a game for the Wii. I did like watching Hank play Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and I started watching the Assassin’s Creed Revelations playlist a while back but never finished. I need to rent a xbox from my library and play the actual game!!) Anyway, this song actually came out in the 80s by a band called Tears for Fears and keeps popping up. This is a special cover by Lorde that’s been quite successful, to say the least. Enjoy!

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Lorde

Really important PS- Mark wanted to contribute to this blog by giving me the title AND randomly typing scribble words on my blog. I changed his scribble “sgbwrgtwer” by taking the letters and starting each one of my paragraphs with the letter, as you can see above. ;) It was quite a challenge to fit everything as I was writing… but quite fun! I even made the song fit!