Ugh.

It's been way too hot lately and on top of that I've been sick... Not fun. So for the past few days I've been hiding in my room... Thank God for basement bedrooms! (Which I finally have all to myself) Twenty years old and I've got my own room for the first time. Kind of weird.

It's kind of late right now but I haven't been able to sleep, even in the basement at midnight it's still too hot. So I've been watching videos on Youtube... 

My sister showed me this video and I like it a lot. :P

Normally I'm not the type for pop teen girl music but there's just something about this...

I also really love the Hillywood show. I wouldn't really recommend all of it but they do some great parodies. Especially their first Twilight parody and their Hunger Games one as well.

I've never seen the Hunger Games and I have no desire to but my brother has and he said that she did this almost too well.

In some ways I wish I could be more like Hillary from the Hillywood Show. She's so confident and smooth. I've never been that way. The last time I went up on stage to sing I failed pretty badly. I can know the song like the back of my hand but as soon as I get up in front of people my body betrays me. I start shaking and I forget the words and my voice cracks.... I can't even imagine dancing. :P That would be a million times worse. I'd look like an idiot dancing like that.

Oh well... I long long ago kissed my dream of becoming an actress goodbye. :P It's very frustrating to have an extrovert mentality with an introverts body. If I were completely one or the other things would be so much simpler.

I wonder how many people are like that. Wanting to get up and do things in front of people, or even just be able to go to a big party and talk to random strangers without getting tongue tied and sounding like a moron. Well, I guess when I put it that way tons of people are probably like that. 

But since I can't be like that, and believe me I've tried many many times, I'm going to give this blog another go. :P Nice thing about the internet is you don't have to talk to people face to face...

I'm going to work on having a more confident voice. Maybe if I do it enough here I'll be able to do it more in real life. Problem is... If I start acting confident and assertive now people will think there's something wrong with me. They've known me for about 8-9 years now. 

What do you think? Have you tried to change your image?

Fictional Friends

Sometimes between exhaustion, headaches, back aches, and other things I just need some time to recover.

Today was one of those days... 

But usually if I can just get away and not talk to anyone for a while I'll feel better. Fictional characters are some of my best friends during these times. :) Right now I'm revisiting my Ouran friends. :)

It's such a weird show... I know a lot of people wouldn't like it.

I have so favorite book and movie characters... And it's kind of sad that I don't have as much time for them anymore.

But I am meeting some new characters! Benny recently introduced me to Pokemon. Pikachu may just be the most adorable thing in the whole world!

Yeah... I'm kind of loving that show... And the game. Right now I'm playing Pokemon Yellow which means that I got Pikachu to start out and he follows me around. :D

Spring...?

I guess not... I've got a cold and snow mixed with hail was coming down heavily yesterday. Oh well, it's only the middle of March. Plenty of warm weather ahead.

But mixed in with the nasty weather and cold we had  couple of really beautiful days! Walking down to the transit center was thoroughly enjoyable and there was one glorious day where I didn't even wear a coat!



The last few days it's been switching from rain to snow to hail to sunshine back to rain. I have to say I'm getting a little tired of winter clothes...



But Spring really is beginning to make an appearance in some areas. On my walk to the bus stop there is this  one house that is painted a really bright blue. Right up against it a cherry tree is blossoming and the contrast between the pink of the cherry blossoms and the blue of the house is lovely.

There's a pussy willow right next to the bus stop and one block away there is a carpet of deep purple crocuses. I can feel myself getting all excited inside.



Daphne, one of my favorite flowers is blooming everywhere. It smells so beautiful...

Pinterest

Well, I made myself a goal to finish the rough draft by the middle of next month. Right now I'm stalling by watching Leverage, browsing Pinterest, and posting... :P

I wouldn't say I'm addicted to Pinterest yet but I am spending a bit more time one it than I should. :P

Here's a favorite pin from each of my boards. :P :)

Color

Fashion

Scenery

Fantastical

Heart

Decorating

Movie Love

Words/LOL

Ideas :D

Just Plain Gorgeous

Things That Move Me

Lists #

Sci Fi

Food... I Guess...

Art

Yeah... There's a lot... But now I've hopefully got that out of my system. I'm gonna try some writing now. Wish me luck!

♥ Shay

Sleeplessness

Well hello world...

This seems to be a theme with me. Once again midnight, lying in bed, unable to sleep. Sometimes I really just can't turn my brain off.

So I promised myself that I would start writing at least 300 words of my story every day this year. Not happening yet... If only it was easier to translate feelings and emotions into words. I bought myself a couple nice clean journals the other day. One is to collect character sketches, descriptions, and ideas. The other is to write down my story  once it's been finished. Hopefully that will inspire me to get working.

Part of the problem us that I am working though. Which I am very grateful for by the way. (Have I mentioned I really love my job?)

Sometimes I feel just like I'm swimming in circles. Always having the same problems and needs and always promising myself the same thing. What I really need to do is to stop procrastinating and thinking so much and just get to work.

One thing I gave been thinking about a lot lately though is people and our dependence on each other.  I'm thinking about doing a full post on it sometime. We'll see.

Anyhow here goes yet again another sleep attempt.

Another post hopefully upcoming-Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows movie review.

Love and Hugs!

What

My Song

Still sick… it kind of sucks, I'm almost never sick for this long. But I *have* to be better by tomorrow because I'm working.

I know I've mentioned this before but I just have to say it again.

I LOVE NICKEL CREEK

I can go for months without listening to them once but then I just get this random craving and I have to go and listen to every single one of their songs several times.

Chris Thile is right up there with Thom Yorke in my opinion. Actually it was listening to Radiohead that made me want to look Nickel Creek up again. They once did a cover of Radiohead's Morning Bell and it's pretty awesome.

I am a huge music person. I would shrivel up and die if I didn't have music. Music speaks to my heart and soul and mind. That sounds corny but I really can't think of a way to explain what good music does to me.

I have my favorites-Radiohead, Wilco, Modest Mouse, Muse, A Fine Frenzy, Keane, Arcade Fire, Blue October- and many many others. And I love them all. They all have their own special meanings, favorite lines, best songs.

Radiohead is probably my top favorite followed closely by Muse. But Nickel Creek is my band. I love every one of their songs  so much. They all mean things to me and the beauty of them satisfies my musical cravings. No other band brings tears to my eyes with their music the way they do.

The title of my blog is from my favorite song, Hanging By a Thread. This song is my song.

I'm going to give up rambling and trying to put my confused feelings into words now and just enjoy the music.

Much love,
Shay

New Years Resolutions

Today is the first Monday of the new year. A great day to get up, take charge, and conquer the world right?
Wrong!
Apparently it's a great day to wake up with a killer headache and an upset stomach...

Oh well... I've been consoling myself with no food, lots of coffee and Advil, Christmas letters, and The Apocalypse War. I may even get some writing done today!

So it's 2012 now. It didn't really hit me till I was sitting in Church listening to the sermon. New Years has never really meant that much to me till now. But you know what? It's a clean slate! A new year is like a blank sheet of paper and now I need to decide what to write on it.

I'm twenty, I have a job, fantastic friends, a great Church, and my family. So what are my goals for this year? What am I going to do with myself? I hardly even thought about making resolutions till yesterday but then I came up with a whole bunch.

Basically it comes down to this. Last year was pretty good. Actually the best year I've ever had. So, now I'm going to make this year the best I've ever had! This may sound silly or cliche but I'm going to be a better person this year.

Anyways, here are my 2012 resolutions.

1. Start a savings account with a certain percentage of every paycheck orig into it. Now that I've finally got a job I can really start saving for my future.

2. Read my Bible every day. This was my only resolution last year and I've kept it. I'm in the middle of Jeremiah now.

3. No regrets. I may not be able to keep this one completely but I know I can do better.

4. Be healthier. Drink more water specifically...

5. Finish my book. And start research on the next one I have planned.

I think that's it for now... But it's a good start. :-)

Happy New Years everyone!

Giving Thanks at a ridiculous hour…

So much for getting a good nights sleep tonight… :P I'm hoping to go Good Friday shopping on Friday, possibly staying up all night Thursday night so I wanted to sleep well tonight. Not working out so well right now.

So… I thought I'd wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!

Also, here's my list of things that I'm thankful for.

1. Calms… I took four. Hopefully they'll help me get to sleep.
2. This touchpad which enables me to do this post.
3. My family of course.
4. My fantastic, fantabulous, wonderful friends. Benny, Katy, Daniel, Wes, Nathan, Caleb, Bethany, Beka, Juli, Scott, Suzy-I love you guys!
5. My amazing job!
6. My Church
7. Portland
8. Turkey
9. Coffee :P
10. Christmas music :D

Ok, I'm going to try sleeping again. :P

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Gave up...

I sort of gave up. :P

Today I not only watched White Christmas, I also set up my Pandora Christmas stations.

So.... I can spread the cheating here are some pictures. I hope they make you as excited as they made me!

Merry Early Christmas everyone!!!

♥♥♥

Shay

I can't wait…

Well, I'm kind of really cheating right now… The radio station that's playing in my room right now is the Christmas music station. I'm terrible. You're not supposed to listen to Christmas music till the day after Thanksgiving. Now, just for the record, I myself did not actually turn this on. My sister Fiona did. But I'm still quite guilty because instead of getting up and switching the station I'm sitting here revelling in its beautiful awesomeness…… sigh…

my co-worker mentioned to my today that it felt like this year Christmas seemed to have been rushing in even more than last year. I've been thinking maybe it's because we need it more this year than we did last year. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and starting to notice more things but it seems to me that our country is especially messed up and depressed this year. And December and Christmas is the month with "Peace on earth and good will towards men." How could you not want to rush that along? I mean it is "The most wonderful time of the year…"

I know that I am rather obsessed with Christmas. Every year about this time I start getting this antsy feeling and then the first time I hear a Christmas song or see a Christmas tree, or hear those Salvation Army bells I get so excited it's almost impossible to keep it all inside.

I love Christmas. Absolutely adore it. Every year the morning after Thanksgiving I get the house all cleaned and I unpack all of the decorations. I spend the day wrestling with Christmas lights and drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music.

Needless to say I am super excited for Christmas. Especially since this year I have a job and can actually afford to buy people good presents. :-P

Soon to come… a post packed full of Christmas gorgeousness…

Ultimate Christmas Wishlist

Daniel from The Anonymous Antagonist was reminding me that I had not done my Ultimate Christmas Wishlist yet, so.... Here goes! (By the way, if I haven't said so already... You should really go visit his blog! It's awesome!)

$100 American Eagle gift card. Is that lame? :P

Nebulous Kingdom's 2012 Calender

An iheartfink dress

A pretty camera.......

A pretty computer............

A pretty car......................

Clinique :P

Dominion

And.... that's all I can think of right now. :P

At the moment I'm enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. The first cup of the season. It's SO GOOD!

Now! I am off to go work on my book some more. :)

Shay ♥

Fashion Loves

One place I would love to own a dress from is Shabby Apple. They've got so many adorable designs!

After Class

Overboard





Syncopation



Boogie Woogie



V.P.




Beauty Mark

I can't believe I don't own a black dress yet....

But I think my favorite at the moment is the Extra Credit dress. SO CUTE!!!





Extra Credit

Catching up

So I think I've killed my muse... killed it stone dead.

I thought when Autumn came I would start being able to write again... The smell of the air, the rain, and the color of the leaves almost always make me need to write. 

Like right now... I'm forcing myself to write this. I have a cup of warm coffee next to me, a fire going in the fireplace, and my inspirational playlist going. Usually that should be all it takes! Especially since it's raining outside at the moment.

Well, I guess I just need to try and work past this.

Choir started again two weeks ago. It's amazing to think how different this year is from when I first started it. In a good way completely. 

So far the songs we're learning aren't all that interesting though.

The choir will be singing at the Grotto for the second year in a row which means we have to learn about 45 minutes worth or music. Normally I adore starting choir and learning Christmas music straight off. It's like cheating since normally I don't allow myself to indulge in any Christmas music till the day after Thanksgiving. But this year none of the music has that distinct Christmas feel to it... Hopefully some of the stuff we start tonight will be more like it.

So far we've started learning:

And the Glory of the Lord from The Messiah Choruses by Handel
In the Bleak Mid-Winter (but the melody isn't the same as the traditional one)

Shepherd's Star

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach

Ok, that last one is a little more fun. Also it's pretty easy.

We're also learning Sing to the Lord by Vivaldi

We All Believe in One True God

and

Except the Lord Build the House based on Psalm 127

It's kind of a lonely season of choir for me this year since my best friend has moved to Washington for his new job. He comes back most weekends but he can't come back for choir...

Anyways

Today I walked up to Joann's to try and find a gypsy pattern for a costume I'm going to make. I found one but it isn't quite what I was looking for so I'm going to look through the old costumes we've got around here and see if I can find anything I can piece together.  Hopefully I'll be able to finish it before the party which is on the 21st... I'm putting together a costume dance as a fundraiser for the private school that my Church runs. Hoping plenty of people show up!

Last weekend Benny came back from Washington and Wes, Caleb, Forrest, Elisa, Benny, and I went to Portland. It was Wes' first time and Benny's second. We went to Saturday Market, Everyday Music, and ate lunch at Pizzicato. 

Caleb and Wesley's first time on the bus! :D

 The taco plate Benny and I split at Saturday Market :D

Benny bought a hat to keep his ears warm at his job in Washington. :) It's getting pretty cold up there.

 Wesley bought a new hat that is cool.

Benny, Elisa, and Wesley being hypnotized by the spinning porch decorations. 

Elisa is scarred by the singing marionettes...

Trying on cute hats :D

Caleb and Elisa :D

Benny got vinyl albums of the Shins and Wilco. He was pretty pleased with them. :)

Bus ride home

So other than the Doctor Who season ending not much has happened that I can think of... :P

Love!

Shay