What ho! What ho! What ho!

What's up, my friends?

Long time no talky.

I do hope all is well with you.

This year has been quite a busy one for me...but then really (come to think of it) what year isn't busy? 

 

This past year I worked my first full time job ever.  That was something!  I gained quite of bit of confidence from working that much, and quite a bit of money, too.  (Well, a lot of money for me at any rate.  ;))  I also gained a lot of exhaustion, but I won't blame that entirely on work because that wouldn't be fair.  (I regret to inform you that I still have not mastered the art of getting to bed on time on a regular basis.  *sheepish grin*) 

 

I made some new friends in 2019...for whom I am very grateful!

 

I also traveled to see my two very dear friends, Olivia and Natalie.  We stayed at Olivia's house this time, and had ourselves a delightfully fun week.  That was back in May.

 

Love these two so much!

 

I became an auntie again!  Twice actually.  To an adorable nephew and an adorable niece.  I now have three nephews and two nieces, and am very much looking forward to more in the future!!  :D

 

My family moved from our home of seventeen years!  We didn't move far, but it was still quite an upheaval, especially as that was the longest we had ever lived at any one place, and for many of my siblings it was the only home they'd ever known.  It took us a while, but I think we're all pretty well settled into our new home now.  It's weird whenever we drive by the old place though.  Sometimes I still feel twinges of sadness.  There were a lot of good memories in that home!

 

I acquired a new sister-in-law as of January 2020.  She is also the good friend who traveled with me and my sister to England, Ireland, and Scotland back in January 2019.  She was dating my brother at the time, but little did we know as we went sight-seeing around Europe that just one year later we would be able to officially call one another family.  :)

 

So yeah, that's a bit of my year in a nutshell.  There's much more I could say of course, but I think any more details will have to wait for another post.

 

To finish up...I changed my blog look again.  I'm rather happy with it.  It's a simpler, less cluttered look, and it feels fresh and airy.  I like it.  What do you all think?



 

And now, tell me what you've been up to! 

I'd love to hear from you!

 

Twenty things we love about...

Well, Alyssa, what’s new with you?  It’s been a pretty boring week. Unless...am I forgetting something?

 

I don’t think so, Natalie.  No.  Last week was pretty uneventful, I’d say.  Nothing exciting happening at all. Unless...wait.  It seems to me that perhaps there might have been something that we’re both forgetting about. 

 

Really?? I can’t imagine what…

There wasn’t someone having a birthday last week was there?

Oh no. We haven’t FORGOTTEN, have we???

 

*scratches head* I don’t see how we could forget something so important as a good friend’s birthday…

Okay, so maybe we didn't actually forget... *cough-cough*

 

 

Of course we didn't!  All of that was put on entirely for suspense.  We knew all along that last week was a special week, for it was the birthday week of a very special friend.  And what friend could that possibly be, do you think?

Only one of the bestest friends ever and most delightful bloggers in the blogosphere…

And her name is…

(Both together now)

OLIVIA!!

 

Yes, our dear sweet Olivia had a birthday last week!

Surprise!! Happy happy birthday, Livvy!

And many happy returns of the day, dear friend!!!

~*~

In honor of our dear friend Olivia, we wanted to write about how much we love her—-and what an amazing, talented, all-around fantastic person she is. In fact, we have TWENTY reasons for this.

~Twenty things we love about Olivia~

{1}

She is such a fun person.  Her mannerisms and expressions when she gets talking on certain topics are adorably cute and I wish I could describe to you how altogether delightful she is when she gets into one of her very expressive moods.  “Splash!” ;P

 

{2}

She’s such a good listener. Whenever you talk to her, you can tell she’s hearing everything you say and eager to do so. I always feel encouraged by her caring, supportive way of listening. ♥  And beyond that, she takes time to reach out and ask if you’re doing, too. I went through a hard event this week and Olivia texted a couple times to see how I was doing. Thank you again, friend!!!

 

{3}

She’s said before that she doesn’t have great talent for novel writing, but oh my word, was she wrong!!  I read her Susan story!  I know.  (Really, people, it was so good.  So beautiful and moving.  God has definitely blessed her with a gift for writing and I can’t wait to see how He will continue to use that gift in her life!)

^^ *agrees wholeheartedly.

 

This picture looks lopsided.  Let's call it artistic.  :P

 

{4}

She’s got a beautiful soprano voice and someone needs to cast her in a musical soon. Her talent is waiting to be shared with the world!  (Here, here!)

{5}

Her insight into spiritual matters and her deep yearning after the Lord is truly beautiful.  Even through the hard times, when worries begin to creep in and pull her down (like they do with so many of us), she doesn’t give up.  God is the one she runs to, and her testimony of His faithfulness is a beautiful one.

(Agree again! She’s such an encouraging and inspiring sister in Christ.)

{6}

She’s just plain fun to be around. The plethora of jokes and inside jokes you can have with her is never ending, and the humor she appreciates ranges from witty classic literature to vines on youtube. In other words, there’s always something to laugh at together and her humor is infectious. :)  (I know I laugh, even when I haven’t a clue what “vine” she and Natalie are talking about!  Heehee. ;))

{7}

She was the third person who ever commented on my blog (Aww, I didn’t know that!) and that makes me so happy!  Because at the time I hadn’t a clue we would end up being such close friends, and yet here we are!  Thanks, Livvy, for taking that first step and reaching out to me the way you did.  That meant so much to me.  And the way you’ve continued to build on that initial meeting and truly show an interest in getting to know me better, that means even more!  You know what it means to be a true friend!

 

 

 

{8}

Inspired by the above point, I must say how grateful I am too for the way friendships grow out of the little gestures. Olivia and I first connected through commenting back and forth about BBC Robin Hood. And here we are, years later with a friendship more like being sisters...and it all started with a conversation about a small, low-budget tv show. (Which, for the record I still think is an absolutely amazing show, and will always be special to me because of our friendship. :))

{9}

Olivia is a very caring person.  Staying at her house for a week and half this year I got to see first hand how much she does to serve and care for her family on a daily basis. Her patient attitude and constant consideration for those around her is truly inspiring.

{10}

Her tastes in books and movies are the best. If she recommends something to me, I’m already pretty certain I will like it. (Which is why YES I still will try to watch Secondhand Lions, you two. ;P)  (You really must! ;P) (Okay I will!! ;D)

{11}

Yes, and speaking of her great taste...her decorating skills are top notch!  Visiting her home in May I noticed that her room in general was just super cute, but in particular…oh my!  It was the light switch in her room that really made my day.  It had a picture of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin on it, my friends!!  Like how adorable is that?  And she had another Pooh picture hanging up in her room as well, which made me quite happy.  Because Winnie the Pooh equals much adorableness and therefore much happiness.  <3

 

 

{12}

She’s an expert at making macaroni and cheese. No, really! You must ask her to make some for you.  (And don’t worry, I have a feeling that she will always remember from henceforward that draining the water out of the noodles before you add the butter is indeed a thing. ;)  You should be safe.) (But watch her, just in case. ;P)

 

{13}

Okay, so to those of you who have read Olivia’s blog, it will be no surprise to you that she loves books, but I just have to give a shout out for how every time she goes into a thrift store she makes a beeline for the book section, and rarely ever comes away without at least purchasing one book to add to her personal library.  I do not have this talent myself.  And so I tip my hat to her, for she is an example of a true story lover.  And that’s something special.  :)
(She’s known as “the girl who comes here and buys books” to one of the thrift stores!)

{14}

She’s absolutely gorgeous, as you can tell by her photos. Problem is, she doesn’t quite believe this...Alyssa and I are still working on changing her mind in that regard, but feel free to help out. ;P

And of course, more importantly, she’s even more beautiful inside, with her vibrant personality and sensitive, caring heart. She’s truly one in a million, and worth even more.  (Amen!  Preach it, sister!!)

{15}

She has some very adorable phrases which she says quite a lot.  One in particular is the “I need this in my life!” one.  This one makes me smile.  It’s just the way she says it.  Like in the post we wrote together back in May 2018; we were talking about watching youtube clips of Jesse and Michelle from Full House and this was Olivia’s reaction: “I'm so glad these two started fangirling over them, too!  I discovered these clips a month or so ago and quietly died from the sheer adorb.  I NEED THIS SHOW IN MY LIFE.”   (*grins* And the way she says “adorb”, too.  I love it!)

{16}

She’s so fun to fangirl with. Whether it’s by exchanging fanvideos of Captain Swan or squealing with over Jack and Lucy in While You Were Sleeping, she’s always down to get excited about stories and I love that about her. 

{17}

Yes, and she’s also quite fun to discuss “those couples we do not like” with.  She and I recently discovered that we have a mutual dislike (or at least a mutual “like-hate” relationship) for Bates and Anna from Downton Abbey.  We agreed that there are times when we can almost get into their story and feel things for them, but overall we find them extremely confuzzling and many times just plain annoying.  And we have yet to fully comprehend how Bates and Anna have acquired so many raving fans.  Because...seriously!  They are typically considered to be the perfect, moral couple...but I’m not convinced.  I see problems, people!  I really do.  (And so does Olivia.  And so we join together in our mutual dislike and oh how happy that does make us.  Heehee.  ;))

{18}

When it comes to *ahem* romantic prospects or interests, Olivia and I share an uncanny ability to understand one another and our Rather Silly Feelings. I mean, we love a lot of the same fictional heroes...and we may or may not have both liked very similar guys in real life as well. It can be rather a problem sometimes. (But in a very funny way ;))

{19}

Olivia has a very tender heart.  And a particularly tender heart for animals.  Which is why she cannot understand why I find myself happier when at a safe distance from the dog or the cat or whatever it may be.  But here’s the thing!  Even while she doesn’t understand this oddity in me, and cannot relate to me on this matter, she doesn’t allow that to draw us apart in any way.  We love each other for our differences as well as for the things in which we are alike, and that is beautiful.

{20}

Lastly, we both just want to express how GRATEFUL we are for Olivia and the friendship we three are able to share. Right, Alyssa? Oh my!! YES!!  I couldn’t agree more! I’m learning more and more how precious TRUE friends are in this world and I feel incredibly blessed by the threesome-friendship we share. Who would have ever expected such a wonderful thing??  Who indeed?  And yes, we are incredibly blessed!!  God is so good to us!

 

 

Happiest of happy birthdays to you, dear friend!! You are very loved!!  <3
 

Some Very Exciting News!!!!

Hello everyone! 

I've been rather silent this past week.  Perhaps you've noticed.

And I wanted to assure you, it's not that I've been meaning to ignore you all.  Really.  Truly. 

It's just...

Well.

Things have been happening to me. 

Exciting sort of things, you know?

Okay.  Let's cut to the chase.

This past week has been one of the funnest (I know.  Bad grammar.  Get over it.) weeks of my life!!

*drumroll*

I met someone, guys!

..........

..........

..........

 

Well, two someones, actually.
 

But oh!  It's just too wonderful. 
How shall I ever begin to tell you???

Okay.  I'll not leave you in suspense any longer.  The two someones ARE...

NATALIE AND OLIVIA!!!!  Two of the bestest friends a girl ever had!! :)

Look!  It's the three of us.  Together.  In person.  Eeeeeeeee!  *happy dance*

 

Would you like to hear from them??  Yes? Well good! Because you're gonna get the opportunity.  Say hi, girls!
 

Hi, fwends!  This is Olivia.

 

And this is Natalie. *waves*

[The following is the post we wrote together while we were still together. Alas we are not together anymore. *sobs*  But let's not dwell on such sad subjects.  Let's move forward.]  

[Olivia's words will henceforth be written in purple, Natalie's in blue, and mine in peach.]  

 

Natalie:  Well, I guess someone should explain how this grand occasion came about. Anyone volunteer?

 

Olivia:  I shall try my hand at it.  Alyssa invited us to her house, and we came, and here we are on our last full day together (by the time you read this, the Fellowship will have been broken).

 

Natalie:  Staaahpppp. *cries* I don't want to leave!!!! *hugs you guys* Alyssa, can I just stay forever?

 

Olivia:  Can I second that request??????!!!!!!!

 

Alyssa:  Weeeelll...I don't know about forever...

 

Olivia:  Okay, FINE, then!  Gosh!!

 

Natalie:  I guess she wants us to get out of her life and shut up.

 

Olivia:  She must not love us anymore, Natalie. *cries on your shoulder*

 

Alyssa:  Oh really, girls.  You are so over dramatic.  *eye roll* 

 

Olivia:  *sigh*  Well, whatever.  As we said, this is our last full day together, so we need to go do super-cool things you wouldn't understand--

 

Natalie:  Government secrets, you know.

 

Alyssa:  Interrupting.  Uh, rude.

 

Olivia:  As I was going to say, we need to go, but we thought we'd give you some mini (and we mean very mini) reviews of all the cinematic delights in which we've been indulging this past week.

 

Natalie:  Speaking of indulging....should we mention all the cookies and brownies as well?

 

Olivia:  Oh, no.  Most assuredly not.  We have our images to keep up.  Onwards to the movie low-down!
 

 

~ Day One ~

 

- The Donna Reed Show

 

This was fun!  I should not be sorry to know it better.

 

This is one of my very favorite TV shows! However, I haven't time right now to go into detail on why I like it so much so...that's all for now.  Just watch it sometime and find out for yourself. 

 

We only watched one episode, and Jeff was grown up. I like him better as a little kid, but it was still fun to watch.

 

- Penelope

 

Johhhnnnyyy. And Penelope. and Johnny with Penelope. This movie was ADORABLE. <3

 

Okay, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie.  I was worried it might be a bit weird for my taste.  But it was actually really fun and the romance was soooooo sweet!!  Yup, I liked it.  :)

 

This is one of my very favorite movies, so it made me so happy that they liked it, guys.  You don't even know. :)

 

- Bella

 

This was a really sweet movie.  Jose was the BEST!!!  Liked him so much. 

 

JOSE.  I AM DEADED.

 

I adore this movie so much and it made me immensely happy that they loved it, too. (And yes. Jose is the literal best. :) :) :))
 

 

~ Day Two ~

 

- A United Kingdom 

 

Well, not a very productive day movie-wise, I must say. *shakes head*  But I was happy to have gotten to watch this one, since I've been wanting to for a while, and it was new to all of us.  I didn't thoroughly love it, but I have a feeling it might grow on me with a second watching.

 

This was good, but probably not one I would watch over and over.  I liked the characters, but at the same time I didn't get as emotionally attached to them as I would have liked.  Still good, though.

 

Same. The couple was adorable and the story very good, but I didn't LOVE this movie or anything. I liked it. (But there was too much confusing political stuff. *cough*) (Or maybe I was just too tired to absorb it. Whatever.)
 

 

~ Day Three ~

 

- BBC Robin Hood 

 

What I want to know is, if the Sherriff's strong room was that well protected, how did he ever manage to get anything out of it?  ;)

 

I always love Robin Hood.

 

We didn't get much of this watched, but it's always good to see my babies again. <333

 

- This Beautiful Fantastic

 

*switches intercom on*  "Silence."  I LOVE THIS MOVIE.

 

I've seen this before, but it was grand seeing it with my fwiends. :D 

 

I've been wanting to see this ever since Natalie and Olivia reviewed it on their blogs, so it was super fun to be able to watch it with them.  I wouldn't say it made it to my favorites' list, but it was quite good.  (Vernon was my favorite I think.  :))

 

- Newsies 

 

IT'S A FINE LIFE, CARRYIN' THE BANNER THROUGH IT ALL!!

 

*can't decide which lyric to use*  *has identity crisis*  It was so much fun watching this with Natalie and Alyssa. :D

 

Same.  I had a lot of fun watching this.  It made me want to watch the original movie again though.  

 

- Napoleon Dynamite

 

This was gold.  I loved it. xD

 

This was cheesy.  I hated it.  JUST KIDDING!! It was actually pretty hilarious.  And we've been quoting it ever since.  ;)

 

I was so afraid of what they'd think of me after watching this movie, so I'm super relieved they enjoyed it. We've been quoting it at each other and even one of Alyssa's brothers who watched it with us. Fun times, y'll.
 

 

~ Day Four ~

 

- Belle 

 

Another good movie.  Man, there's just too many good movies in this world. I could have used more of John and Dido together but I guess you can't have it all. 

 

Yay, Alyssa finally got to watch this one!! :D

 

It was such fun watching this one with Olivia again, as it was the first movie I ever watched with blogging friends--her and Eowyn. And now we got to show Alyssa, too. It's such a beautiful, moving story. <3

 

~ Day Five ~

 

- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

 

Umm.....I was curious to watch this again, as I've seen it before a long time ago and didn't care for it very much. I liked it slightly better than I did the first time....*hem hem*.

 

Yeahhhhhhh . . . watching it through someone else's eyes does drive home how truly terrible it is if you take it seriously.  I mean, I still love it dearly, but . . . yeah.  We kept telling Alyssa's little brothers who were watching it with us that Adam is NOT a man to be emulated.  ;) ;)

 

Yeah, don't take it seriously.  Just don't.  You'll ruin all the fun of it if you do.  ;)

 

- The Man Who Invented Christmas

 

I'd watched this once before, so it was fun watching it again with Natalie and Alyssa and Alyssa's family.  It's really quite an excellent movie, I think.

 

I've been wanting to see this since it came out, and it was quite enjoyable and quotable and altogether delightful. And Dickens' relationship with his characters was fantastic. "I'm going out.....ALONE." xD (Also, Alyssa's dad has a reproduction copy of the original publication of A Christmas Carol....it was SO cool to see after watching the movie. It felt like a piece of the movie come to life. :D)

 

I really enjoyed this movie.  It was surprisingly good, and better than I expected.  Dickens' interaction with his characters was hilarious and very creative.

 

- Priceless 

 

Good.

 

Very good, indeed.  It was pretty intense and kind of difficult to watch, but I'm glad I did.  *has inarticulate, emotional feelings*

 

I've been obsessed with For King and Country lately and just watched Priceless myself for the first time. It's super intense and serious, but I love how the story is told and the hope it offers. I'm really glad those two ^^ like it as well. :) 

 

- YouTube clips of Jesse and Michelle from Full House

 

HOW IS THIS SO CUTE I CAN'T DEAL

 

So adorable!! <3 <3

 

I'm so glad these two started fangirling over them, too!  I discovered these clips a month or so ago and quietly died from the sheer adorb.  I NEED THIS SHOW IN MY LIFE.  (But my library doesn't have it. *scowls*  What library doesn't have Full House???!!)
 

 

~ Day Six * ~

 

- Sarah Plain and Tall

 

I always like this movie and it's always good, but I think it was a bit too quiet of a movie for when we watched it, since we were already rather tired. 

 

It was sweet, but it was a little too much like Love Comes Softly. I was kind of hoping for something different. And, like Olivia said, it kind of put me to sleep. Almost. :P

 

Like Love Comes Softly, Natalie?  Now, now.  That's going a bit too far, don't you think?!  ;P  Seriously though, I really do like this movie (and I think it's much better than Love Comes Softly...'hem), but I guess I can sort of understand where Natalie's coming from.  And yes, it was rather putting us to sleep that day, I have to admit.  CALEB IS THE CUTEST CHILD THOUGH!  I love him so much!  <3 <3

 

* We also started watching some Boy Meets World episodes, as well as Doctor Thorne.
 

 

~ Day 7 ~

 

(more Boy Meets World and Jesse + Michelle)
 

 

~ Day 8 ~

 

- Doctor Thorne 

 

I really liked this one. I didn't love it--some aspects of the story and characters seemed hard to connect to--but overall it was fun to watch a sweet, new-to-me period drama. Frank and Mary were super sweet and Dr. Thorne was awesome. Can't wait to show this one to my mom. :)

 

I enjoyed this, though I had some quibbles.  Tom Hollander as Dr. Thorne was probably the best thing about it, but I also enjoyed seeing some other familiar period drama faces and meeting some new ones.  I was a little confused by some of the "artistic choices" -- the costumes were rather weird sometimes (as Alyssa says, "too many flowers" ;)), and some of the actresses' line delivery was weird too, and some other stuff.  BUT, again, I did enjoy it.  

 

Ditto to a lot of what Olivia said.  It's hard to describe it exactly but there are definitely some things about this film that could have been improved.  Still it was fun watching it together and it's definitely grown on me since the first time I saw it.  (But yeah, seriously.  Too many flowers.  ;))

 

- Boy Meets World

 

This is pretty much my favorite TV show at the moment, so it was really fun to be able to share it with my friends.  :)

 

I'm low-key obsessed now. This show is so fun. (Stupid sometimes, yeah.) I can't stop laughing when we watch it. :D 

 

Love it!  The quotability is strong with this one.
 

 

All of us together:  Aside from movies, we've had fun engaging in Many Deep Talks (mostly after midnight *cough cough*), reading each others' writing, singing and playing the piano, playing with Alyssa's little siblings, eating, running thither and yon, attending a dance, attending a Sight & Sound show, taking pictures of ourselves like the vain hussies we are, using far too many Napoleon Dynamite quotes, and, of course, laughing, laughing, laughing.  

 

I'm trying to think how to wrap this post up.  And of course, I'm blanking out.  (WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME????)  Basically to keep it short (since Natalie and Olivia are waiting for me to finish this so we can all publish our posts at the same time) this past week WAS AWESOME!!! So much fun.  I can't even begin to tell you!  I love these girls so much and I miss them tons!!!  Thanks, Natalie and Olivia, for being the most amazing friends ever!!! 

 

Okay.  That's it.  Feels like a really lame way to wrap up such a momentous post, but I'm just going to go with it.  (For once in my life I'm going to try and conquer my habit of overthinking things.  ;)) 

 

The end.

P.S.  Try and get to bed before 3:30, girls.  T'would be a smart thing to do.  *wink*

P.P.S.  Check out Olivia's and Natalie's posts, too.  They're mostly the same as mine, but we all put our own spin on the beginning and end (and their endings were better, *cough cough*).  Also they have fun pictures to go with the movie reviews so yeah...I think you'll want to check that out.  ;)