My Life in Books (Tag)

Hannah from Books, Cameras and Succulents (adorable blog name, by the way) tagged me with the My Life in Books Tag! Thank you girl, this looks just like the kind of blog post I will make time for on a Sunday morning. 

The picture above is, indeed, a picture of my own dear bookcase. And indeed, it is decked with coloured fairy lights because, indeed, it is now December and indeed, it will be Christmas in no less than three weeks. And indeed, that fact makes me happy indeed. Indeed. (I do not know why I am using that word so much. It is just a fun word to write and hear inside my brain. It is like the words 'What-ho' and 'crumbs' and 'dude'; once you say them once you like to put them all over the place in your daily vocabulary. At least, for me. I cannot speak for you. Indeed.)

OK BACK TO THE LIFE IN BOOKS TAG.

Find a book for each of your initials.

Is this a crafty little way to find out the first letter of my last name? Cruel! Haha, just kidding; what is in a letter, I'll be fine. A P could stand for Parkinson, Pratt, Pendleton and hundreds of others. I shall leave it up to your imagination and hope that you will not guess.

N - Northanger Abbey

S - Sense and Sensibility

P - Pride and Prejudice (oh yas)

(Dude, my initials in Jane Austen books. Never have I been more proud to be called Naomi Sarah Pringlelingle.)

Count your age along your bookshelf. What book is it?

The eighteenth book on my top bookshelf (which I consider 'the first bookshelf' for some reason) is 'The Luckiest Girl in School' by Angela Brazil. Would not recommend; it is not very interesting. :-P

Pick a book set in your country.

The only book I have that is set in Belgium is Valentine Joe and it's beautiful ahhh. It's very unrealistic and yes two teens fall in love but I love it so much. It's about WW1. And it's set in Belgium.

Pick a book that represents a destination you'd love to travel to.

Any book by Lucy Maud Montgomery, but especially Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Rilla of Ingleside, The Story Girl, The Golden Road, the Blue castle and all the other ones.

Pick a book that is your favourite colour.

It is Christmas season so currently I'm all about colour of deep red. I have the beautifullest copy of Great Expectations in that red. You should come over to my house to admire it. I shall serve you tea and biscuits on top of it. Do not say that is not tempting.

Which book do you have fondest memories of?

My mum reading Anne of Green Gables ahhhhhhhhhh. THAT BOOK WAS MY FAVOURITE SOURCE OF PLEASURE. Those evenings when my mum read that aloud to us first were a little bit of story magic to me. I also have good memories of discovering other LMM books, especially The Story Girl and The Golden Road - I LOVED those - and of course I have tons of good memories rereading the Little House books over and over.

Which book did you have the most difficulty reading?

On my bookshelf? Probably those boring Amish fiction sagas which I haven't finished yet and I got it for my fourteenth birthday. :-P

Which book on your TBR pile will give you the biggest accomplishment when you read it?

A Charles Dickens book. I still haven't read any properly to my satisfaction.

OK, I have to go now and my questions are finished so I shall say adieu. Hope you are all fine and dandy and I hope you don't forget to give Jesus priority today. Have a blessed week!

(Indeed.)

Sounds of life

{sounds right now}

my brother playing the piano

celtic women singing old ballads on spotify

the violin accompanying them

the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard

a cough from the other room

footsteps on the staircase

{sounds on a train}

the train announcements in the roboty, nasally voice

the guy on the phone with his buddy

the lady on the phone with her husband

the teenage girls gossiping about their teachers at school

doors opening with hisses and cracks

a sigh, a sneeze, a cough

and then the small crackle of a page turn in the middle of an exciting novel

{sounds in a quiet exam room}

the teacher walking around; her heels clicking the floor like an execution drum

little stifled coughs

creaking door handles opened by latecomers

groups of boys joking on the hallway; booming laughter

the determined sound of pen on paper

the sighs of those who know they'll fail

{sounds in a forest}

stones and twigs crunching and snapping underneath sturdy boots or flying bike wheels

Sunday afternoon conversations

the hum of a song

which is drowned in the mass of bird whistling; bird chirping

the scuffling sound of dead leaves being hurled to corners

by the gentle whoosh of the winds

the croaking of dark clouds

then... the pitter patter of light raindrops sprinkling the trees

{sounds at youth group}

the crackling of a bonfire

guitar chords and worship songs like King of Kings and Good Good Father

encouragement and prayer

"It's good to see you"s during hugs

high fives

buzz of teenagers stumbling indoors, playing table football, talking about the week

the crunch of crisps, the fizz of coke and the crumble of cake

oh and laughter; always

I'm thankful for my ears right now. :-)

8 Mini Stories

Hello readers. I hope you are well on this rainy, haily (if that's not a word now it is :-P), dark, autumn day here in Belgium. I feel like some creative writing challenge, so I'm going to challenge myself and write tiny mini stories based on pictures I found on pinterest. Stories don't have to be long; you can often fit a whole story in just a few words. They're stories. Mini stories. Hope you like them.

Mini Story 1

Her name was Millie and she was my sister. She died when I was seven; she was seventeen. She died falling off her motorbike when she was on holiday with her boyfriend and his sister. She died wearing her favourite summer frock; the white one Mama didn't like her to wear because it was see through if the sun shone from behind her. Mama cried when she died; Daddy sobbed and sobbed. My brother ran away from home for a week because he didn't want me to see him cry. I went to Millie's bedroom and I hugged her pillowcase. It was green with purple flowers. I took it to my bedroom and slept with it.

Mini Story 2

"Why, Sarah, why," Jonie asked. Only, she didn't really ask it. She said it, like she wasn't expecting a solid answer.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to sit down and eat with me? Why did you buy me food? I literally took your boyfriend away from you."

"I didn't own him," Sarah said. "And it's just chips."

Jonie smiled her beautiful smile. "Chips are good, though."

"And so is Jonathan," Sarah nodded. "I am not blaming you for wanting him. Besides, he prefers you. That is not your fault either."

Suddenly Jonie hated Jonathan for leaving this sweet girl to be with her.

Mini Story 3

Mama always told me I shouldn't pass notes to people in school, but when someone passes you a note, what else can you do but except it? Especially when it's specially written for you. It's not every day that you get a note written for you. The teacher was explaining about African tribes and Christopher Columbus but I stopped listening to her to open the note. 

You're stupid and ugly, it said.

It was the first time someone had written it instead of saying it. Now it was written down, it became a fact.

Mini Story 4

Dear Diary, 

We are married. We got married in the mountains; it was just us two, and Bets and Dorian, and the pastor. Bets took pictures, Dorian played guitar, the pastor married us. Joe and I, we just smiled and smiled. Our cheeks hurt from happiness. Maybe when our parents see how happy we are, they will give in. Maybe they will be okay with us being husband and wife. Maybe one day. But even if they never do, we have each other. And we have these mountains and we have Michael Jackson cd's and a Bible. We will be okay. I am so happy my heart could burst. I must leave; my husband awaits. 

Yours truly, a wife.

Mini Story 5

When you have a crush on your brothers' roommate, you visit your brother often.

"Oh, hey sis," my brother would say.

"Oh, hey bro," I would say, but I would look over his shoulder and look at him. He was always at his desk, writing. Poems, books, pieces of future classic literature. He had a cup of coffee next to him and the radio played orchestral music he couldn't hear because he was so absorbed into his writing. Oh, but he looked so good in his brown waistcoat and messy hair. I was sure I could stare at him for ages.

"You're too obvious," my brother whispered.

"Apparently not," I whispered back. He didn't even look up when I came in anymore.

My brothers' roommate put his pen down and looked at me. "Yes, you are," he said. He was smiling.

Mini Story 6

Where there are large families, there are messy halls. Where there are messy halls, there are plenty of shoes. Where there are halls with plenty of shoes, there are large families. Or, of course, a single lady with an unhealthy obsession with buying shoes.

But when such a single lady comes to live with a large family; then, and only then, things get offhand. If you think your house contains too many shoes, you have not visited the Pickfords. The Pickfords' house was ninety percent shoes, ten percent other. The Pickfords had nine children, their two parents, and now, their jolly aunt Priscilla Pickford. She had two hundred and thirty two pairs of shoes and counting, and Mr Pickford felt suicidal whenever he looked at any single one of them. So one evening, when Priscilla Pickford went out to buy another pair, he held a huge bonfire in the garden with his children. 

They couldn't find any wood for the bonfire, so they elaborated with two hundred and thirty two objects they found lying around in the house. Objects they didn't think they really needed.

Mini Story 7

It had been six years ago since I'd seen her. She had put me out of the house when I was sixteen. "You don't need me to feed ya anymore," she had said. I had asked her, what do I do on my own, and she had said, go find your father. And she had closed the door in my face. I went to my Grandma. My mother didn't even know who my father was; how would I know? I was now both fatherless and motherless. Both didn't want to know me; and that was how it stayed for six long years.

But here she was. I saw her, she was standing at the side of the music floor, looking at the ground in deep thought. I stared at her through all the couples slow dancing between us. My heart beat wild and fast. It was her. The same curly hair. The same thin, white arms. The same dark eyes. Only, she was older; she was sadder. She looked weary.

"Jesus." I prayed. "Jesus, you forgave me. I am going to go to my mum and forgive her."

Mini Story 8

"You know grandma, I've always loved your fridge," Annie smiled.

"You mean all the magnets?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes, they're cool. I mean, it looks cool."

"When I was a young girl," Phoebe said, her old hands wrapped around her cup of coffee. "I once made a long journey around the world. I was hopelessly in love with this guy, but because I thought I would never have a chance with him, I went on this journey to try to forget him. Well, every country I was in, some stranger randomly came up to me and gave me a magnet. When I came back home the next year, it turned out he had given them all to me."

"That is so cute,"Annie gushed.

"It was the sweetest thing someone ever did to me."

"Did you date him?"

"Darling, he's grandpa."

Which Mini Story is your favourite?

(For the record this is so much fun to do. My favourite is 5, because he looks like Gilbert Blythe and you can't go wrong there.)

PS MINNIE AND ALFIE IN LARK RISE ARE THE CUTEST COUPLE EVER

Days to remember

picture by a friend back when we had the amazing lil' trip to Germany. Good, good memories.

A week off college is what I needed. Yes, I have heaps of things to do, but it's so much different when you don't get woken up by the alarm on your phone, when you don't have to catch a train in the cold morning, when you don't have to sit through not-always-very-interesting classes, and when you don't have to be sociable with people when all you want to do is listen to the soundtrack of Grease while taking a long bath. 

Last weekend was a whirlwind of emotions. First, a productive Saturday in which I went driving on the road, which was freaking scary and wow I am so grown-up gosh, and then a Sunday which was filled with emotions - happy and sad, so closely linked it is hard to describe. Happy because I spent it with a darling group of friends - a group of friends I never thought I would ever be lucky enough to be part of. A group of friends in which I always find myself encouraged, motivated, laughing till my belly hurts, and comfortable enough to share practically anything. Us 13-something folk crammed around a table for dinner; we played unorganised games drowned with inside jokes; we opened 6 bars of chocolate simultaneously; we listened to random music pieces.

And sad - because two dear friends of this group had to leave. They came to Belgium a year ago; and today they leave back to the States. And it was so sad to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes - they're like closing off a chapter and as much as I like the sweet wording of that, I hate closing chapters. It won't be the same without our "Mum and Dad" of the group; they bought something so special and colourful and Jesus-centred into all our lives. But I know we'll see each other again and I know they are needed in other places as well.

Anyway. That was last weekend, and it was a beautiful weekend. I have so much (so much) to be thankful for. It hits me every evening - I am a lucky girl.

Now I am enjoying my busy yet relaxing week, filling in any gaps between the hours I spend (or should spend) on homework with trying to learn how to do the Moonwalk, listening to Grease is the word and Hopelessly Devoted, making videos for myself so that I'll always remember good memories, reading 1 John because gah, ordering photos to be printed, and... and well yes, I've been listening to Christmas music a good while now. You? You should too.

The Little Things ❤

::: Hazelnut Milk Chocolate ::: Misty mornings ::: Horses in fields in misty mornings ::: Red sunsets casting a spell over an already magical field in a misty morning ::: The Palace in Brussels ::: Olly Murs songs ::: Michael Buble songs are better though ::: When you catch an earlier train ::: having a nice conversation with a stranger on the train (she was Finnish. explains it. Belgians wouldn't dream of having a nice conversation with a stranger.) ::: Babies giving you high fives ::: this good post ::: and also this good post ::: the moon in the early morning ::: the dark blue and purple sky in the morning ::: leaves ::: killing a mosquito (MWUHAHA) ::: Spying on strangers in railway stations ::: There was a man yesterday that looked like Avi Kaplan ::: And two best friends with dreadlocks talking about teen pregnancy rates in different countries ::: making plans for an exciting weekend ::: Scrapping off things on a to-do list (it's so so satisfying) ::: White goats ::: John. I mean the book of the Bible. Not just a random dude called John. ::: SMILES ::: kindness. there is truly nothing so beautiful ::: John Crist's instagram stories. If you're on insta, you should follow him just for his stories. that man is a comedy genius. ::: This was another 10 minute blog post ::: (The sunset in the picture above was my view from my window a few days ago. Gah.) :::

let's see if I can write this in ten minutes

... this is a very short, quick blog post I am writing before hopping on a bike to hop on a train to go to college. Also this is a blog post I should not be writing as I have a to-do list the length of the Nile. (Is the Nile long? See, I should know this if I'm going to be a primary school teacher.) Also this is a blog post to let readers know that I'm alive albeit busy. I miss blogging and this kind of blog post only takes like, ten minutes to write... right? right? (I guess I'll see because I'm writing it. ;-P)

So currently, for all those who are (and for those who aren't) interested, I am...

Reading - Schoolbooks do NOT count but they're pretty much all my literature at present. The only non-schoolbook I read is the Bible. (And I also have Radical by Platt under my bed which looks amazing, but I haven't even touched it yet.)

Singing - Anything because my voice was gone and now it is found again. #theprodigalvoice? (OK, but mainly Micheal Buble songs.)

Listening - To Michael Buble songs. All day every day. His songs are my jam and he's just the best singer in the world okay no buts. I WILL NEVER TIRE OF HIM. And yes, I listened to his Christmas songs the other day. K don't judge. (My new favourite Buble song is his version with Elvis Presley of Fever. IT IS EVERYTHING SMOOTH AND SNAPPY.)

I'm also listening to teachers giving lessons. Oh yes.

Walking - Around in Brussels to get to said teachers who give said lessons. (By the way, YESTERDAY THE KING DROVE PAST ME. The actual king of Belgium.)

Running - No no no I don't do running. (Unless I see there's a train waiting and I need to get on it and I'm not on it yet. Then I run.)

Laughing - With my siblings and because of funny whatsapp group messages. (Me: "The king drove past me today!" Someone else on a group chat: "Oh I'm sorry. Didn't see you. Would've waved.")

Smiling - Because of that sunset yesterday. IT WAS SO PINK. Sunsets always remind me again and again of who is and always will be the best artist in the world.

Praying - For the world and all it's tribulations. For the victims of Las Vegas shootings, for persecuted Christians.

Accepting - That I ain't got no time to watch movies and read books and write books. One must accept things when one wants to get a degree. (Do I even want this degree? :-P) (Yes, I do want it but I do miss my free times.)

Looking forward to - Youth group this evening; and going to Germany for the weekend next weekend with some friends it's going to be so much fun I'd BETTER not have too much homework. *eyes homework* DON'T YOU DARE COME WITH ME TO GERMANY.

Learning - Over and over again, every day - that without God as a friend I am ultimately alone. Learning also that He is Great and Merciful. These are lessons we can always relearn.

Writing - School stuff. And this blog post. #socrazyright

Finishing - This blog post. Bam. END.

A post on trains

I don't know about the USA and Australia and all you guys' places, but here in Belgium students like me take the train to go to university every day. At first that kind of freaked me out because trains are risky things.

10 reasons why trains are risky things

1. You're stuffed into a narrow, metal snake with people you have never met before. That's the basic explanation of a train. And it does not necessarily sound very attractive.

2. This can therefore include being seated next to a potential murderer or drug dealer.

3. You could get your handbag nicked. A handbag contains important cards and passports and in the case of some stories, babies. (Little Importance of Being Earnest reference there; before you get wierded out.)

4. You can miss your train. Think of how stressful it is; you have to get in that thing before it whizzes away again - and if you don't it won't care; you'll just have to wait fifteen minutes or more for the next metal snake.  It does not care about your feelings. 

5. There is a small gap between the train and the platform. This is ok, but just don't fall. Death may occur and that death may be yours.

6. Sometimes trains are very stuffed. I have been on two trains today - one so stuffy a man was standing right in front of my face, a girl was sitting next to me, another girl was standing next to me, another man was sitting right behind the man standing in front of me; a lady sitting right next to the man standing in front of me (I was trying to concentrate on C.S.Lewis' The Problem of Pain) - and another nice and calm one where I had a little table and bench to myself and I could edit my story in peace. The latter is somewhat more of a rare specimen in school hours, let's just say that.

7. You can accidentally sit in the 1st class passengers and get a ticking off from the conductor.

8. You can accidentally lose your train ticket and get a ticking off from the conductor (+fine.)

9. You can accidentally get on the wrong train and find yourself landing in some weird-sounding place you have never heard of. Guys, train timetables are the most complicated dang things there are. Just make sure you have your phone with you so you can phone Mum whilst weeping. Like, there's 23 platforms. How am I supposed to know which one might potentially have a train that will bring me closer to my home?

10. Underground train stations are super creepy. Forget about the Matthew and Mary romantic train station scene in Downton Abbey. I'm talking black walls with graffiti.

... basically, my life is a play between life and death.

All right, I am obviously being overly pessimistic for dramatic reasons (;-P) and I have to say, I have already noticed some of its positive sides. I did not think I would find a lot of them, but I have found that travelling by train has its quaint, storybook sides. 

Such as:

1. Yesterday I was walking in the big grand train station, and outside there was this jazz band playing on the pavement - with saxophones and everything. As I went inside, and down the steps into the underground world of train platforms, the jolly jazzy sound intermingled with the sound of trains, announcements, and endless footsteps of people rushed to get on with their own life. With all those sounds drowning into each other, I felt like I was in one of those slow motion, soundtrack-y scenes in a movie. You know, one of those scenes where the main character feels all numb and struck and where he or she is reanalysing life and everything about it? YOU know. Anyway. I felt like I was in that kind of scene for a few minutes and it was cool. :-P

2. When there's a sunset shining through the train windows. Guys. Purty.

3. When I spot someone reading a book I like. Ok, that hasn't happened yet, but I'm happy to say that people are still reading books. Granted, more people are on their phones, but I have spotted many noses between book covers and that makes me happy.

4. Some of the landscapes I pass are very picturesque indeed.

5. Sometimes there are good looking people on the train. There was a guy dressed like Wooster this morning. And a girl with a nice handbag. There is always something to observe.

6. The rattle of the train is quite satisfying - not a bad sound.

7. Now and then us cold Belgian strangers will dare smile to each other. But never longer than half a second. Oh no; heaven forbid. That is far to familiar.

There was my little anecdote on trains. I'm training myself to get used to them. You'd better keep track of my process and station assignments on my way so I can improve. I'll keep a to-do list with boxes of things I have to do to improve, so that when I get the things done I can ticket.

(SEE WHAT I DID THERE. FOUR PUNS. ONE PARAGRAPH. *hi-fives self*)

Five things you could do to make your day better

1. Have a spontaneous meet-up with a friend. 

When you randomly hear that a friend happens to be nearby, hop on a bike and go have a random meet-up. Just a chat and a laugh and a 15-minute windy walk is worth it. There is something about spur-on-the-moment decisions that makes my love for life skyrocket to a high level. I should do more of it. I love it when an ordinary day ends up having a quick change of plan to make it a bit special. It does not happen often, but when it does it does my heart good.

2. Go through a movie/season and just rewatch all your favourite scenes. 

Don't listen to those people who think that's weird - just do it. It's so much fun, and sometimes one doesn't have time to watch everything but one still has A Desire to relive certain scenes. I went through the entire season of Berkeley Square when I was staying at my grandparents' several weeks ago, and just watched all the Ned and Matty scenes because those two are adorable. The other day I watched the last episode of Downton Abbey again and then the day after I was like, 'I'm still not over that episode; I have to rewatch some scenes.' So I did. Edith and Bertie are so cute and I can't even tell you how proud I am of Thomas and the way he turns out in the end.

3. Learn a chapter of the Bible by heart. 

My goal one day is to know an entire book by heart - like that man who performed at the convention I went to in England back in July, and acted out the entire book of Luke (it was amazing) - but I am not very good at learning stuff word for word, so I'm trying for a chapter. Of course the first one I want to learn by heart is 1 Corinthians 13. Learning Bible verses by heart used to be something I absolutely hated, but now I so see why it's important and helpful. Reading the Bible is one thing, but remembering it and living it is another thing - and the latter is so much easier when you have verses stored up in yo brain.

4. Write down prayers. 

Getting distracted is easy easy EASY; I mean, can I get an amen? Even without a phone; even without music on the background - my brain just crawls away. Also, prayer is so important; and so powerful - and I don't want to ignore it. Being focused during prayer is important also, and avoiding distractions during prayer is therefore essential. What helps for me is writing down my prayers. Writing is one of the ways I express myself, so I'm not saying it's good for everyone, but writing down my prayers has helped me so much and I really recommend it!

5. Listen to all the cliché feel-good songs.

Hey, just forget a second about being stereotypical; if you want to jam on Happy and Can't Stop the Feeling while doing the dishes, just freaking do it. If you've listened to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack 100 times already but your heart still says it can handle more, just put it on again and sing your heart out. (Confession: I listen to One Direction now and then. K. Don't judge me.)

Give me something I should do to make an ordinary day extraordinary.

a poem

Do you know

How to write

Poetry

Just write whatever

Pops into your head

And like butterflies

On bramble hedges in spring sunsets

Use metaphors for false illusion of cleverness

And click

Enter

So that you

Have a lot of lines

Which makes some kind of

Surprising

Rhythm

Like waves bobbing on an ocean

Like extreopotism

See I just used water imagery

And a word I don’t know what it means

But it’s all good

Because

It’s a poem

Wow that was deep

That blank line really showed that

THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS SUMMER

(Pictures from a friend. Do not steal.)

This summer seemed ages and seconds. Somehow that works. This summer was exciting and filled with memories. This summer was bonfires and smores and friends from youth group. This summer was the summer I got whatsapp - still contemplating whether that was a good thing. This summer was saying goodbye to my family for little week trips on my own. This summer I felt sort of grown up. I don't think I'll ever feel really grown-up and that's 100% ok with me. This summer I read the New Testament. This summer I volunteered at two places and made the best friends. This summer I experienced FOMO (fear of missing out) but that's okay; it taught me things. This summer I visited Highclere Castle and went inside where the Crawley family live and basically freaked out. This summer I tried root beer floats for the first time. Someone filmed me drink it because 'British girl tries American drink' is capture-worthy. I watched my first action movie and hated it. I watched The Young Victoria again and I loved it. I saw a Period Drama costume in person (and touched it haha) (this outfit) and I walked in streets where Jane Austen once walked. And I drove past the house she was born in. And I just missed meeting Adrian Lukis (actor who played Mr Wickham in P&P95) because he was going to come to Bath just the day after I was there. Excellent timing. This summer was inside jokes and craving to know God deeper and deeper. This summer was seeing prayer in a new light. This summer was feeling loved and loving people. This summer was getting a reputation for my puns. This summer was a blessing. Of course, there were boring and uneventful and less fun days (d u h) but the thing is, I can barely remember them because the good ones were that good.

Thank you. I don't know why I'm saying thank you on the blog, but I'm just so thankful for this summer. *insert title here like 100 times*

(pics by me or a friend)

10 types of instagram captions

The title speaks all. This is going to be fun to write. ;-)

1. The hashtagger

thehashtagger #sunset #nofilter #soblessed #okmaybetherewasasmallfilter #buthardlyany #itwaswayprettierinreallifeanyway #sunsetpics #sunsetsofinstagram #sunsetsofinsta #godscreation #art #artisinotdead #godsnotdead #lit #dope #beautiful #stunning #beautifulsunset #imaluckygirl

STOP IT.

2. The long caption-er

thelongcaptioner Ok, so guys these past few hours have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I don't even know where to start, lol, but let me just say that man, it's been worth it. Going to the beach with my one-year-old for the first time was precious and I'll never forget it. The memory is not only in a polaroid snap and instagram pictures, but it's also engraved in my brain. My sweet baby girl saw the ocean with her own eyes as blue as the ocean and my heart ached out of love for her and for the beautiful vast waters. Our God is so so amazing; Ha makes the blue of little baby eyes and the blue of powerful oceans. Coming home from this trip with weary bones and sand-clad skin I was musing about all this and this poem came to mind that my mama used to read to me when I was a little girl. My eyes filled with tears as the words came back to my brain, one by one... {continued in the comments}

(Don't feel like you have to read all that, haha.) I like a bit of meat on a caption but I'll be the first to admit that some people go wayyyy too long EVERY TIME they post (like, how much time do these Mum instagrammers have, to write a novel on their toddlers latest antics every day when they post a picture?!?!) and that some long instagram captions are just so. dead. boring. Like, at this point honey, I don't care about you enough to go to the comment section to read the rest of your caption. Start a blog. Or a diary.

3. The emoji-er

theemojier ⛅✨😍

An emoji speaks a thousand words, people. (Actually, it doesn't. They're cute, but they're not informative and imagination-rousing to the soul.)

4. The no caption

Boring? Lack of creativity? Lazy? All of the above. Whoever writes the first comment gets to be the caption-writer for the picture. (A slight improvement of this one is the caption: "Caption this." :-P)

5. The witty one

thewittyone Ok, so I have literally no reason to post this but you have literally no reason to read this or waste time online so STOP JUDGING ME K. #hatersgonnahate

The one that tries really hard to be funny. (I'm probably this one, if I'm being honest. :-P) Often these people's captions include: a) puns (often really bad ones) b) rants (often really unnecessary ones) c) using wacky hashtags (like #wowlolsofunnyjkthisjokesucks) and d) saying somethign very snobbish like posting a selfie and captioning it with something like 'what a view.' Because that's hilarious, apparently.

6. The deep, short caption-er

thedeepshortcaptioner 💚 D O N ' T  F O R G E T  T O  B R E A T H E 🌒

This one gets my goat. But it's very popular in the World of Insta, I have noticed. Especially girls do this a lot, with pictures of holidays and poses and fields. Other examples of such captions are: "Shoot for the stars 🌠" "But darling, what if you fly?" "Fields of gold" "Golden hour of love" ... honestly, none of them make sense. And they're all from pinterest, probably.

7. The quote caption

thequotecaption "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah

Few people read these captions.

8. The Bible verse caption

theBibleversecaption "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." (Prov. 30:5)

... in a similar vein, this is a popular caption choice with Christian instagrammers who don't feel inspired or led to write a long sermon as a caption. :-P A Proverbs or Romans or Corinthians verse are popular choices. Or John 3:16.

9. The sponsored caption

thesponsoredcaption I love my new boots from @somebootshopnoonecaresabout - they are honestly so comfy and pretty. Use promo code "idontcare' to get 50% off your first purchase! Totally recommended!

This is for popular instagrammers with tons of followers. Kind of annoying though, these captions. I mean, I'm glad they have a job writing these captions and I'd probably do it too if I were them... but I rate these captions 1/10 bc they're boring. Sorry.

10. The 'I posted something' caption

theipostedsomethingcaption New video up on the youtube channel! Link in bio! Check it out!

No explanation needed.

Which one are you? Which one is your favourite/least favourite? Any I forgot?

PS: KATE AND WILLIAM ARE HAVING BABY NO.3!!!! 

New Blog Look!

just to make thee hungry. :-P

Ok, a quick post because I redid my blog again (look here, whenever I try a simplistic minimalistic blog look it ends up existing for five days only. I return to headers!) and I like it and I want compliments your opinion on it.

Here's a picture of the current blog look for future readers who do not know what blog look I am talking about because in the future I may change it once again. I am considerate am I not.

Voila. Honest opinions and thoughts? Is the Bible verse too random? (I love random but your opinion may differ. :-))

Jesus wants you.

Hey reader. Here's a 100£ bill.

You'd take it, right?

You'd take it if I licked it. It's still worth 100£.

You'd take it if I crumpled it up. It's still worth 100£.

You'd take it if I tore it a little here and there. It's still worth 100£.

You'd take it if it was dusty. Still worth 100£.

You'd take it if it was smeared with mud. Still 100£.

You'd take it, right?

Jesus died for you.

God'll take us if we're ugly. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we're messed up. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we have a past filled with sin. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we sinned five minutes ago. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we sin five minutes later. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we lie, cheat, kill. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we work for his enemy, the devil. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we hate Him. He still died for you.

God'll take us if we kill Him. Which is what we did, because of our sins. 

But He still gladly died. For you.

Jesus wants you.

He'll clean you.

He'll fix your tares.

He'll dry your tears.

He'll dust you off.

He'll smooth out your creases.

He'll help you and change your life.

He'll take you.

Jesus wants you. Every day, again and again, He wants the whole of you.

Jesus loves you.

Let me tell you a true story of a miracle.

(inspired by this video but honestly he just stole my thoughts.)

You were once in your mother. Think about that. Just because everyone was once in their mother doesn't mean that it isn't special. IT'S FREAKING MINDBLOWING. You, the adulting-teenager-what-ever-you-are, you, were once inside your mum for nine months, in water.

And now you are almost taller than your mother. Or you are. Or you are almost as tall. (IDK.) Your cells have developed and your bones have grown and your brain has gained information. That's insane. Baby you and you now don't look alike. Baby you and toddler you don't look alike. Toddler you and kid you don't look alike. Kid you and teenager you don't look alike. HOW DO YOU CHANGE SO FAST?

You can think about anything you want to think about. Your brain can decide what you do and your brain can make decisions for you. You rely on that amazing machine in your head to guide your entire life and SOMEHOW IT WORKS. HOW.

You have your own unique fingerprint and eye pattern and face features. Even if you don't like them, they're YOURS and no-one else has them. Even your twin doesn't look like you, even if everyone says you two look alike. You have these unique THINGS and man alive, there's billions of people on this planet and you've got countless things that are LITERALLY ONLY YOU?! Lucky.

Doing stuff - you can do stuff. No, you can change things. The fact that you are breathing oxygen and eating food and sleeping means that your human self can impact things on this globe. How did we get that opportunity... just by being? That is a responsibility and it's an HONOUR. Why are we not excited about this?!

You can love people - you can love things. You can feel loved. You can get excited and feel passionate about things; you can hug and feel overwhelmed with emotions; you are a bundle of confusing feelings and incomprehensible sensations that you can choose how to deal with, with that amazing machine under your skull. ALL THIS IS MIND-BOGGLING.

YOUR EYEBALLS. Can we just appreciate your eyeballs? THEY ARE READING THIS. And your brain is understanding all these squiggly black things; your brain is absorbing and munching on an idea that popped into my brain because of something that popped into somebody else's brain and OUR BRAINS TALK TO EACH OTHER. 

Why are we surprised when things go wrong? Miracles are not normal. You are not normal. You are a miracle.

My Summer so far

hello. 

🌞🕶

not my picture because i can't take pictures this aesthetically pleasing

{A paragraph or two on this Summer:}

Summers are always highly anticipated, yet they fly by like a dream. But they also seem long. Like, back when I was stressing out for final exams seems like another world. Still, the holidays have been like five minutes. (I've said 'like' twice already in the blog post. I am such a teenager.)Summer 2017 is not yet over, but the majority has passed and as you all know, the majority exceeds the minority, so I should have enough to blog about. So far it's been beautiful - more ups than downs - good conversations - the best friends a girl could ask for. I don't think I can remember a Summer in which I felt more excited about life; even though I'm an adult now and I'm going to be doing stuff that adults do which doesn't always seem like an exciting prospect.

Anyways, I'll do the list-y thing with favourites and events and bla de blah. Just a post. You'll get the drill. About my summer so far.

picture credit to my phone

{Things I did for the first time:}

- I flew a plane with a friend. And it's more fun than on your own, unless you have a very bad cold, in that case, it's more fun to be by yourself if it means you're without a cold. So: Travelling alone < Travelling with a friend, but Travelling alone without cold > Travelling with a friend with a cold. Although not if the friend is amazing and buys you stuff. Which was in my case. So: Travelling alone without cold < Travelling with a cold with a friend who is amazing and buys you stuff.

I AM RAMBLING.

- I was in Scotland for 10 minutes. Amount of kilt-clad men spotted: 4. Amount of kilt-shops spotted: 2. Maybe 3. Can't recollect.

- I volunteered at a huge Christian Convention in the Lake District - a lot of rain but it was a great experience. SO many people who love Jesus, so many teens that want to know Him better and better... and so many Late Nights with 300 teens playing the most ridiculous games and singing the same songs over and over. (I must have sung 'Lion and the Lamb' 15 times in 5 days.) (Ok maybe not.) (But maybe.) (Still a nice song.)

- I went to the north of England, for said convention. Had never done it. Would 100% recommend the scenery and the mountains BUT PLEASE BE WISER THAN ME AND BRING A RAINCOAT. AND SOCKS. AND A SCARF. I know it's end July/beginning August, but DO IT.

- I volunteered at a mission centre in Belgium which was the best week of my holiday so far. Not to be dramatic, but I feel like meeting these people will have a long lasting impact on my life. When saying goodbye is hard and when despite Whatsapp groups you miss 'em, that means something. I only stayed there for 6 days but man, I made some real friendships there. And I learnt that working; doing the dishes, cleaning bathrooms - it can be so much fun if you're doing it with the right attitude and the right people. The people I met there taught me about true Christian fellowship, work ethic and just having fun basically. I MISS THEM FOLKS.

- I got slapped by an old lady while doing my job at an old people's home. It was funny.

- I READ LITTLE. (What am I becoming? A normal person?!)

- I did my driving theory test (today actually. heh. heh.) and guess which girl passed her exam? I don't know. T'wasn't me. Sadly enough. I shall have to try again. :-/ (But remember readers; failing exams doesn't define who you are whatsoever. If it does, you're conforming yourself to a world system that is false. Define yourself in eternal standards and the rest will seem like nonsense.)

{Movies I watched:}

The Princess Diaries 1 // I watched this with some friends at the centre I volunteered at and it was so much fun - totally understand why this it-has-alll-the-clichés and it's-super-entertaining movie is such a beloved classic in so many households. It was fun.

Penelope // Me and my friend Bethany found an empty creche room at 9:30 and watched this movie. It finished at midnight and I was tired the following day but t'was worth it. Penelope is just as adorable as Olivia always said it was and I think she looks cute with the pigs nose and James McAvoy is adorable and he plays the pianooo.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas // I AM DEAD. No I'm not but this movie was stunning and terrible and just terrible all in one. Would highly recommend but you won't go to bed with a happy feeling, let me just warn you in advance. The music: 10/10. The actors 10/10. (That scene where the mom finds out about the reality of the concentration camp is so raw and well-acted, I got chills.) The ending: 0/10. But nothing like this ending shows how unreal and terrible the Holocaust was. Man alive, this story.

100 foot journey // Can I rewatch this? I LOVED THIS. It was filled with wit and humour and punchlines; but it had warmth and fuzzies and emotion in it too. It had beautiful scenery and adorable clothes (Marguerite's wardrobe and hair?! Is it not gorgeous or what?) but the best thing about it was, without doubt and without surprise, THE FOOD. It made me want to cook and it made me hungry. Beautiful movie.

THAT SCENE. ^

Newsies Broadway // I HAVE NO WORDS. THIS MOVIE WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE. And I'm in love with all the Newsies simultaneously and I want to rewatch this and ugh I am so glad they filmed a Broadway production because it was 100% epic. Gah. I loved it so much. Santa Fe gave me chills and the 'For sure?' 'Fo sho' almost made me cry and Davey singing 'Now is the time to Seize the Day' made me so happy.

I watched this with Natalie, and we were texting each other like crazy. Obviously, the texts were those of priceless fangirling. Such as:

Natalie: The bag toss though

Me: I knowww 

Me: No!

Natalie: No!

Natalie: When you gotta hundred voices singing

Me: 100 voices > lousy whistle

Natalie: Hahaha!!

Natalie: I lost my shoe!

Me: I lost my shoe

Me: Aha

Me: Pulitzer don't own us

Me: This song is the best one

Natalie: The world will feel the fire

Natalie: LES

Me: Ohhhh les

Me: Ahhhhh angry jack

Natalie: JACK

Me: I love JACK

Me: Ahh

Natalie: I love Jack in all moods but angry Jack is so great

Me: Haha yes

... you get the drill. :-P (Believe me, during Santa Fe and the curtain roll at the end we were typing in full caps. :-P)

{A random list of stuff I'm thankful for:}

pink jumpers :: my bed :: friends :: books :: words :: star constelations :: wise words from wise friends and wise books :: Godfearing example around me :: role models :: senses of humours :: plans :: adjustments to plans that make plans better :: dreams that are like really interesting and have a message :: perseverance :: emails :: letters :: youth group :: dark nights and mornings :: colours :: yellow :: pink & burgandy :: grandparents :: Whatsapp group chats and all the inside jokes :: prayer groups :: stunning things in the world :: like mountains :: Jesus coming to die for us :: I've got nothing after that. ♡

{Songs I currently love:}

Would you be so kind by Dodie Clark // It's catchy and it's cute, so I like it.

Chopin Waltzes on the piano // they're all so twinkly and beautiful and I want to play them all.

You make me Smile by iforgotwho // I discovered this song through a fan video on Minnie and Alfie, haha.

Why don't we just dance by Josh Turner // Sorry but his voice can never fail.

Strength will rise as we wait on the Lord // a bit repetitive but I love this song.

6/10 by Dodie // the harmonies at the end are top-notch

Newsies Soundtrack // no words.

{other things:}

- The Help by Kathryn Stockett is JUST unbelievable. It's so beautifully written - the words crunch with life; they're so real; the whole book is so real it does something magical. It's witty, filled with good, likeable one-liners, the characters are so raw and honest and true, and the writing is so stunning it's no wonder I haven't touched my writing projects in months.

- This conversation on whatsapp:

Person: *sends picture of Sound of Music, a scene where the Nazi's enter Austria*

Person: I did Nazi that coming.

Me: Anne Frankley I did Nazi that good pun coming.

Person: don't.

- Every knee will bow before Him. ↑ Think about that.

- I love this emoji: ♡  

- And no I did not see the solar eclipse, but I wish I had because the pictures look so beautiful. Could you even see it in Europe though? Because only Americans are talking about it.

- This video. I laughed so hard, oh my gosh. What a 2-minute gem.

- It's actually been raining practically all August and end of July for me. But I don't mind.

- Do you like this minimalistic blog look? I'm trying again. :-P

definitely not me. definitely a random picture.

There you go. That was a bit about me and my life right now. I'm thankful and I'm so blessed. I feel like I've learnt so much this summer, I don't know what I have more to learn as I go to college! (Aside from academic stuff. :-P) I'm currently reading Revelation in the Bible, and I'm going through it very slowly because I don't want to just read and not learn anything from it's beauty and mystery. I've been so surprised with how relevant the themes are to today. Like when John gets told, 'I will show you what must take place after this' he sees a vision of everyone bowing before the throne in Heaven and just WORSHIPPING. And I read that and I realised that because no-one (no-one) on earth can worship enough due to the sin that separates us from Him, that once in heaven, where we will be made perfect, we MUST worship Him - after all, how will we not be able to! Before the throne in heaven, how can we not worship?

... just one of my many thoughts. I love musing about His Word.

Tell me 1 thing about your summer. And which newsie is your favourite. (If you've seen it.)

🌻🌣

bye

Combinations of things.

You know how you attach certain scents, memories, places or images with books and stories? I love how brains work like that - how it puts two different things in the same category and context; how it juggles with smell and weather and words. It's amazing. Like, The Help is yellow and lemons and the sound of a typewriter. Celia Garth and Violins of Autumn take me back to summer 2015 in Switzerland, the green shutters in the house we were staying at, and the dew on the grass in the morning. Eve's Daughters is me crying in bed and imagining the characters' smiles and the colour purple of the cover. The Book Thief is Christmas holidays, and my bedroom when the bed was at the other side of the room. On the banks of plum creek is lemonade and my old bed sheets with the pink and salmon-coloured hearts on it. Remembrance by Theresa Breslin reminds me of my old bedroom in the attic and Back Home by Michelle Magorian gives me memories of cute lamps, nylons, and my second cousin Rebekah. The Story Girl is me wishing so bad I could dive in it; and it's the colour of gold and the taste of orchard apples. Rilla of Ingleside is an emotional soundtrack like the Kings Speech soundtrack and late nights. Sense and Sensibility is grandma and my old pink diary. That chapter in Hebrews (Hebrews 11) about faith reminds me of strawberries for breakfast and talking about it on grey sofas with five friends. While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin is dark red and chocolate and watching trailers of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movies on youtube. The Sweetest Thing is light green and mental images of 1930 dresses. Gone with the Wind is dark hallways and mirrors and spring. Man, I love how there are so many combinations of things.