"Oh, Look At That... I've Been Impaled."

Oh, no... not impaled. Er... awarded. That's what I meant. Awarded. Whew! Too much Frozen! But who can help loving Olaf? *grins* I tend to collect a couple of these award things and then post them all at once. So... here we go!

First off... my friend Arwen has a private blog (very Lord-of-the-Rings-y, so I muchly enjoy reading it), and she nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award! Thank you, Arwen! :)

Rules (None given with the award, yet I'm obnoxiously putting rules in for the purpose of this post)

1. Thank the blogger who awarded you

2. Answer the ten questions he/she asked

3. Nominate ten bloggers to receive the award

4. Ask them ten questions

5. And so forth.... :)

Arwen's Questions

1.  How long have you been playing your instrument of choice?

I began playing the piano when I was about six or seven, and I've been happily playing ever since. I'm currently not in lessons, but I hope to be this fall. I also play the flute some, and I got my first flute in 2006.

2.  Best flavor of ice cream that pops into your head right off the bat?

CHOCOLATE! But.... I can't have it. Allergies, you know. Plain chocolate ice cream is THE BEST EVAH, and if I'm in an adventurous mood, I'll snitch a bite when we have it in the house. Which is rare. Which is probably best considering I'm allergic to it. :P

3.  What are your current favorite book, movie, and singer/band?

Book: I just beta-read a medieval King Arthur-ish story for a friend and LOVED it (yes, friend, you know who you are)! But I s'pose that's not acceptable, since it's not published yet, so let's say Little Dorrit. Awesome Dickens, and I just finished reading it this week.

Movie: Probably Frozen. Or Desolation of Smaug. And they may or may not be the last two things I've watched. :)

Smaug was amazing. 'Nuff said.

Singer/Band: I really don't follow many singers and bands, but I do enjoy listening to Ben Everson. His Embrace the Cross album is one that my family plays almost every day... provided we can swipe the CD from my brother's sticky fingers.

4.  Do you prefer listening to instrumental music or music with vocals?

Usually, vocals so I can sing along. If I'm writing, it has to be instrumental, otherwise I'm WAY too distracted.

5.  What is your opinion on dogs?

I love dogs. They're man's best friend. Loyal, friendly, furry, wonderful.

6.  What is one thing about you that few people know (that you're comfortable posting about)?

I immensely dislike Idina Menzel's voice. I'm sorry to say it, but that girl cannot sing. Not properly, anyway. You can love her if you want to, but leave me in my lonely corner and prefer singers who don't screech. Disney's Frozen was an excellent film, and I loved it, but I can't stand to listen to Elsa's Let it Go.

The animation in this song, however, is fantastic!

7.  What is a food combination that you love but most people would find strange if you told them about it (i.e. chips with peanut butter sandwiches, feta cheese, peanuts and Italian salad dressing on your fish, etc.)?

Top of the Mountain dinners. What? You don't know what that is? Boy, are you missing out! Take your leftovers from Thanksgiving (mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy) to create a bed on your plate and then layer on whatever toppings you please! I prefer loading mine with homemade stuffing, raisins, crushed pineapple, diced apples, shredded coconut, celery, Chow Mein noodles, and cheese. It's delicious!

8.  Do you care a lot about your wardrobe, or are you more of a clothes-are-there-to-clothe-me-and-that's-all type of person?

The latter. Clothes are clothes. As long as they're modest and comfortable and glorifying to God, that's all I care about.

9.  How many times have you eaten out in the past month and where?

Once. Yeah, I know, but I have food allergies, remember? My mom took my brother and I out to collect maple sap from a friend, and we stopped at McDonalds on the way. Even with my soy allergy, I can eat plain burger patties and french fries! And that's rawther exciting for someone who is basically banned from restaurants.

10.  Favorite genre to read about/watch?

Adventure. Fantasy. Comedy. That kind of stuff. 

And... Hamlette of Edge of the Precipice gave me the Liebster Award! Thank you very much, Hamlette!

The Rules:
*Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog (done above).
*Display the award somewhere on your blog.
*List 11 facts about yourself.
*Answer 11 questions chosen by the blogger who nominated you.
*Come up with 11 new questions to ask your nominees.
*Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think deserve the award and who have less than 1,000 followers. You may nominate blogs that have already received the award, but you cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you. Go to their blog and inform them that they've been nominated. 

My 11 Facts

1. My sisters and I have a Frozen calendar hanging in our bedroom. Yes, we're 20, 18, 11, and 4, and we all got it for Christmas. 

2. I like wearing my hair in a side braid - simple, fast, and controlled.

3. I recently realized that I have about 50 skirts... yeah...

4. I love climbing pine trees.

5. Instead of eating my corn on the cob horizontally row by row, I eat it vertically, going round and round on the cob.

6. I've never read any of the Bronte sisters' books.

7. I immensely dislike cap sleeves on my shirts.

8. I've read the new Millie books (the ones adapted by Kersten Hamilton with purple covers) so many times I can quote most of the books aloud. And I do.

9. I love tapioca pudding.

10. I am not a cat person. 

11. I have Peter Pan syndrome -- I don't want to grow up. Awkward, considering I'm 20.

Hamlette's Questions

1.  Who is your favorite poet, and why?

Alfred, Lord Tennyson or Edward Lear. They're both so quotable, that's why, and because I thought Dr. Seuss wouldn't quite fit this question. ;)

~Half a league, half a league, half a league onward. Into the jaws of death rode the six hundred.

"Charge of the Light Brigade"

~They went to sea in a sieve, they did. In a sieve they went to sea.

"The Jubliees"

2.  What movie character would you recast if you could?
My family just watched The Desolation of Smaug the other night (IT WAS AMAZING!! But wow -- what a cliffhanger!!), but I formed a very great dislike of how Peter Jackson portrayed Beorn, the skinchanger. While the bear side of him was phenomenally cool, the "human" side was not. Whatever happened to Gandalf's one-by-two-sometimes-three entrance parties? That's my favorite part in the book!  And I'm sorry, but Mikael Persbrandt did not look anything like what I imagined Beorn to look. So, although I loved DoS, I think Beorn was wrong.

Is it just me, or does he look more bush than bear?

3.  Do you think mice are nice?
I'm not overly fond of them on the whole, but I'm not scared of them. I've been around mice long enough to know what to do to catch one. And I don't shriek while I'm doing it.

4.  What "universally beloved" fictional character do you not care much for?
Wow, Hamlette. Gettin' deep with the questions, aren't we? I like this... it's making me think. Honestly, Thorin from The Hobbit. I get so annoyed with him in the book, and although Richard Armitage is definitely nailing the performance in the movie trilogy, I still don't like Thorin. He's one selfish dwarf, and that's that. For all those who know the story and THE SPOILER... I'm not sorry it's going to happen. Actually, I'm eager to see how PJ is going to do it. I know that sounds harsh, but that's me.

5.  Do you prefer sci-fi or fantasy?
Fantasy. I'm just beginning to get into some sci-fi stuff (i.e. Star Wars), but it's not a great love. Fantasy is epic in every sense of the word.

6.  Have you ever been in a police car?
Never.

7.  Are there any movies or books you thought you'd hate, and discovered you liked instead?
Star Wars. I've never considered myself a fan of science fiction, but I've watched 4 out of the 6 episodes and actually enjoyed them. 

8.  What's the oldest book you've ever read?
The Bible. It's amazing to think that God's Word was written 2,000 years ago, and yet it has been so carefully preserved and is just as powerful today as it was when it was written.

9.  What's the oldest movie you've ever seen?
This one I had to do a bit of research for. I've never seen any silent films, but I've seen plenty of black and white ones. Bright Eyes with Shirley Temple, made in 1934, I believe is the oldest one.

10.  If you could live in any fictional house/mansion/dwelling, where would you like to live?
Hmm... either Professor Kirke's country house with all the passageways and the ten minutes' walk down to the dining room and the wardrobes leading to faraway places OR the hole in the ground in which lived a hobbit, not a nasty sort of hole with worms and spiders and oozy smells, but a hole full of the comforts of home. 

11.  How many books have you read so far in 2014?
20 so far. But still going strong! :)

And then Miss Jane of Classic Ramblings also gave me the Liebster Award! Thanks, Jane! :)

Now, for some reason I've seen a lot of different Liebster awards floating around the blogosphere, and if they're all different Liebster awards, or if they're the same, I'm not sure. But they all do have pretty buttons! :)

Rules
~Thank and link back the person who nominated you 
~List eleven facts about yourself 
~Answer the eleven questions asked by the blogger who nominated you 
~Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers (you can't nominate the blogger who nominated you)
~Ask them eleven questions
~Let them know of their nomination!

My 11 Facts (again!)
1. I would love to get a penny whistle.
2. I will often sing tenor in church/family groups/etc, even though I'm a natural alto.
3. I haven't read Les Miserables... yet.
4. I can imitate Snow White's singing voice. 
5. And yes, I annoy my siblings with it.
6. It is my dream to rewrite all the fairy tales without magic.
7. I've already dove into both Cinderella and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
8. My retellings are (if you don't know) Secret of the Hazel Tree and The Twelfth Kingdom.
9. I'm planning on Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty to be my next retellings.
10. And I'm raw-ther excited about them.
11. Yes, I'm kinda avoiding the whole "eleven facts" thing with statements. But, in my defense, I already posted eleven random facts earlier in this post!

Jane's Questions
1. What movie genre is your favorite?
Adventure, fantasy, comedy. Didn't I answer this already?

2. Do you like musicals? If so, list a few favorites.
YES!!! I ADORE MUSICALS! I wish my life was one... well, it pretty much is, considering there's ALWAYS music in our house. Hmm... some favorites. Thank you, Jane, for not saying one favorite! Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, Beauty and the Beast, Singin' in the Rain, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Les Mis, Newsies... and the list goes on and on. Some of these musicals contain themes/costumes/songs/language that aren't appropriate, so please listen to/watch them with discernment.

How can you *not* love this??

3. Favorite modern author?
How modern is modern? I'm assuming still alive, still writing modern. Chuck Black (author of the Kingdom Series and the Knights of Arrethtrae) is a favorite, as is Donita K. Paul (DragonKeeper Chronicles). It's hard to pick out really modern authors, because my preferences usually go towards more classic books.

4. Do you prefer reading a paperback or hardback book?
It depends on the book and my mood. I like both. Usually, though, I prefer my classics in hardback.

5. Favorite time period in history?
Favorite to write about? Medieval. Favorite to learn about? Colonial/Revolutionary War/Civil War. Favorite to actually live in? Probably late 1800s-early 1900s in America.

6. Least favorite food?
Tortellini soup. I'm sorry, but I can't stomach that.

7. Do you have any historical role models? If so, who and why?
I really admire Fanny Crosby. Although she was blind, she led such a life for the Lord. People expected her to complain and sulk about her condition, yet she didn't. She accepted it as God's will for her life, and made the most of it. And look at the testimony she left behind! Her hymns are some of my particular favorites!

8. Fictional character who's most like you?
Probably Jo March. I don't haver her temper, but I am obnoxious, quirky, writerly, and all that like her.

9. Do you ever take personality quizzes? If so, list a few of your favorites?
From time to time. I don't have a favorite quiz, per say, but I have had some interesting results. This morning I took quizzes relating to what character I was in LOTR, Frozen, and The Princess Bride, and I came out as Eowyn, Sven, and Vizinni. You can figure that one out.

10. Favorite book when you were little?
The Owl and the Pussycat. Yup. Edward Lear.

11. Thoughts on Kindles?
I like them, and if I had money, I'd buy one and use it (especially since I've got a ton of the classics on my kindle app on my computer). But on the whole, I like real books better. They smell nice. :)

Now to award eleven people... and ask eleven questions.

Let's see... picking out people to award is always a difficult task, because OF COURSE I want to pass it on to everyone! Hmm... how 'bout I look through my comments and pull eleven names? Excluding, of course, the lovely girls who gave me the awards...

Jack of However Improbable
Elizabeth of The Country Handmaiden
Christina of Idlewild
Lauriloth of Musings of an Elf
Michaela of Stepping Toward the Son
Melody of The Splendor Falls on Castle Walls
Hayden of Story Girl
Sarah of Sarah'Sword
The Keller Girls of Life With The Keller Girls
Khloe Grace of All Things Good
Eowyn of inklings press

My Questions
1. Favorite superhero (any will do)?
2. What color socks are you wearing right now?
3. If I were to visit you for the afternoon, what would you plan on doing?
4. Best pizza topping?
5. Can you introduce us to your family in less than three sentences?
6. If you could be proficient (as Lady Catherine says) in any instrument, what would it be?
7. Five favorite Disney songs off the top your head. Go!
8. Your opinion of maple syrup, please?
9. What's your favorite soup?
10. Which fictional hero/heroine would you want as a sibling?
11. Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland?

And as to which award you get -- if your birthday is anywhere from January to June, you got the Beautiful Blogger Award. If, however, the date proves to fall between July and December, you got the Liebster Award. Negotiations may be made to receive the opposite award if your birthday popped up in the wrong group. *winks* 

And for anyone I didn't award, but would like to answer the questions in a comment -- please do! I'd love to read your answers!

Or... if I awarded you and you just want to answer the questions in a comment... that's fine as well. I'm not too terribly picky. I mostly picked your names out because I wanted to see you answer the questions. Don't we all do that?

God bless!