Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Life is Sweet, and I talk again about heroes

It seems my last post wasn't too popular, so I take that to mean that 1.) 98% of my readers aren't hoodies and 2.) Molly missed this post (she's as obsessed with Robin Hood, medieval things, and history as I am.) Maybe y'all will tell me about some of your favorite tv shows? Or just story/character obsessions in general? :)

edit: Molly said for some reason she wasn't able to comment on this post, so my Hoodie hasn't abandoned me. Not at all. :P

Life Is Sweet
(Ara, would I be the first person to point out what a beautiful button that is?!)

1. The sweetest Valentine's Day story you ever heard: http://owlcityblog.com/2011/02/14/dear-taylor/

2. Talking on the phone to my cousin a couple nights ago and laughing so hard I nearly cried. I'm not sure why she brings out the hyperness in me. Plus I get to see her in a week and a half, and we haven't seen each other since Christmas. ♥

3. In Christ alone, my hope is found, he is my light, my strength, my song. That song is so stunning and makes me want to shout, "Jesus, I love you!"

4. Having sisterly talks with my...sister. :P

5. Saying something like "Did you know...that your name..." to your best friend and having her finish the line. You know what's really weird? We know each other so well we're telepathic. We have begun saying the same things at the exact same time.

6. Season three finale of Larkrise to Candleford tomorrow night, along with introducing my second favorite tv show--Merlin-- to my parents and grandmother

7. Lying on the driveway looking up at the siluhouette (sp?) of black trees against an orange and blue sunset-y sky.

8. Writing a prologue for The Labyrinth (new possible title--what do you think of Hero?) and actually liking it

9. Really hitting it off with my classmates

10. Thinking about going to camp in a month :)

_________________________

Not my most exciting list ever, but oh well. They're sweet things for me. :)

So, I mentioned writing a new prologue for The Labyrinth. When I was doing Nano, I hated this book so much. Hated it. I thought it was junk, and in some ways, it is. It doesn't make any sense and the ending was extremely rushed, because I wanted to finish it on the last day of November (and did!). But Shaynie just started editing her Nano novel too, so we made a deal to edit our books together and to pester each other relentlessly from time to time to see how the editing is going. I have 300 words of a prologue, but it isn't bad. And I'm beginning to see who my main character, Theseus, really is. I think during Nano, the pressure of the race really overshadowed him, and in all respects, he was pretty flat. But I can see that he has a lot of potential. Mind if I talk a bit longer? :)

I had an idea today about changing the name of the book from The Labyrinth to Hero. Because that one word is the essence--or rather, will be, with this draft--of the story. The theme is Theseus struggling with what a "hero" is, what they do, and how he doesn't want to become one (because 98% of the Greek heroes got really big heads about their accomplishments, so the gods zapped them or had them die painful deaths. He doesn't want that.)

What is a hero? What makes a hero? What will define who he is?

It would be a perfect title. Theseus (my version, anyway, forget the old legend about him) isn't the hero type. Alright, I know that sounds stereo-typical. But Theseus is more like a commoner than a prince; he doesn't think very highly of himself; and he doesn't even want to be king of Athens one day. Unfortunately, he's 6 foot 2 inches, built well, fights like nobody's business, and looks like a hero, and everyone expects him to go do something amazing and heroic, because, well, that's what heroes and princes do. But to be a hero isn't his aim. He doesn't say, "Hey, I think I'll go to Crete, because if I killed the Minotaur it would make me look really good!" He goes because his best friend, the healer's son Pollux, is among the group of youths and maidens who are captured to be fed to the Minotaur. So he really has no choice. And the word "hero" is the question he will struggle with throughout the whole book.

I'm talking in circles. It just felt good to talk about that, and maybe, possibly, convey my ideas of what The Labyrinth is. It's amazing, but I'm actually liking my main character. I take that to be a good sign.

Wanna see a picture? Yes? Aw, y'all are just too sweet =D


left to right: Minos (the king of Crete, Ariadne's father, "played" by Keith Allan), Theseus (played by John Dagleish), Ariadne (princess of Crete, played by Selena Gomez), and Sarpedon (Minos's brother, played by Steve Coogan)

___________________________________

Well, that's about it from here. I must leave. Have a fabulous night, friends!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Guess WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEY EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD

GuEsS WhAt!!! It's Molly HaCkInG Carolines blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So... what now????? Wellll.... from now on everyone should call Caroline CARALION!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is just sooooo much funn!!!!!Anyways...... Caroline is my bestest freind and we're total geeks and imma hang out with her soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)))) YAY!!!!!! And ya' know what?! She's not even gonna get angry at me for this, shes gonna laugh because thats how awesome of freinds we areee :) Shes used to my craziness now anyways... soooooo does anybody like ROBIN hood?!?!?!?!?! I DOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it!!!!! Because Robins just like ZiP and shoots things right on the mark and Allans eyes areeee SOOOO AmAzInG!!!! And Will, is suppeeerrrr CuTe-TaStIc, and Djaq KiCkS BuTt! and Marian is AwEsOmE!!!!!! And Much likes to SiNg and SO DO I!!!!! And Little John (LJ) Is HuGe!!!! XD Sooo.. That was my 'GuEsT PoSt'.. umm yeah.. lets go with that... hehe.. sooooo!!! Byeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^-^

*this is an edit by Caroline: I'm working on a post about characters (check back soon, Ara, so you can read the end of it!) so...look forward to it. XD

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Just a lovely photo



One of my closest friends, Katelyn McKay. I saw she put this photo on Picnik and I couldn't help but edit it and put it here. :)

{note: for the longest time I have been trying to write a post, and it just hasn't worked. It never sounds right. Check back this week, my dears.}

Friday, December 31, 2010

Life that's new

I really don't like posting now that my blog is private--I can reach so fewer people, and it's a hassle commenting on blogs that don't have access to mine. Anyways. :)

I'm really excited for 2011. This year, which will end in one hour (one hour! eep!) has been a good one. It's had its ups and downs. My grandfather passed away three days before Christmas. I won Nanowrimo. Grandpa was in and out of the hospital numerous times. There were trials, big ones, for my personal walk with Jesus. I could almost feel Satan shooting his fiery darts at me. It hurt. A lot. But Jesus, being the good Savior that he is, helped me get through it--and learn from it. I can't say it was enjoyable (I mean, come on; when is it ever?) but I think I'm stronger because of it.

I made friends this year. Two girls who have become two of my best friends, and I hope they'll truly be my friends forever. I met Katelyn in March in a writing class, and we got to know each other after a few months. Sadly, she spent the entire summer (grr!) in New Jersey, but she came home (yay!) and we've become really strong friends. Hey, we're both writers and photographers and bloggers and Christians and homeschoolers. How much more alike can you get? (Ok, we don't look anything alike. At all. But that's alright.) God has blessed me so much, and I am so thankful for a wonderful Christian friend like her. Love you, girlie!


Then, in April, from this lovely little website we call Blogger, I met Shaynie. I was just blog hopping and happened to find her blog (I have no idea where I found it) and man, am I glad I did. We always got along well, but towards the beginning of fall we started chatting/emailing with each other, and we started to become really good friends. Shaynie completed Nanowrimo like a week and a half before it ended. I, on the other hand, was struggling with a word count that was pretty behind. But this girl pulled me through. She wrote me an incredible pep talk and I pulled through and won that horribly painful writing contest (note to self: don't do Nanowrimo next year...possibly...). I didn't want to dissapoint Shaynie, so I had to kick Nano's butt. Now, two months later, we're close friends, and definitely friends for life. :)

And then there's Miss Molly. I can't say she's one of the best friends I met in 2010, since I met her in 2009. But then, last New Year's, I didn't know Molly nearly as well as I do now. I am so thankful for this friend. We may be as different as day and night, but we're Peanut Butter and Jelly, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, Spongebob and Patrick, Shawn and Gus. (I had to fit all the best friends I could think of.XD) We really are sisters, buddies, amigas, and Robin Hood and Merlin fanatics forever.:)


photo credit to Pixel Paige

I am thankful for my life. My friends. You incredible on Blogger, cause you make my day. My family, because that's what keeps us together. My grandfather's life. And I'm thankful for new life, and how Jesus can turn an old year into a new one full of hopes and promises and any amount of dreams that can come true. That may sound really cliche, but as Molly once told me, sometimes the cliche phrases are really the most true. Anything can happen, because this is life, and when you put in God's hands, you're in for a wild ride. One that will take you to places you never expected.

I want to write this year. I want to push myself to my limits and make the volleyball gold league. I want to save my money for a camera, I want to eat healthier, I want to run, I want to draw, I want to cook.

But what I really want is Jesus. I fool myself into thinking I need the above things (Ok...you really do need your health XD) but when it comes down to it, what's left? Is it the camera or the volleyball or the sketches? Nuh-uh. It's Jesus, and it all comes down to him. So give him the glory, because in the end, it's his anyways.


{MY picture, but I didn't put a watermark on it, so don't steal}

I wanted to share this verse that was a huge comfort to me during my struggle:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." --Ephesians 6:12 (and typed from memory, too ^_^)

Satan doesn't want us to live. He wants to weigh us down with how life can be hard sometimes. And while it can be, that's not the point. Because Jesus came to give life, and he certainly did give it. So it's the least we can do to honor him by living it.

It felt good to write this, even if no one else sees it until tomorrow or the next day. I need to get my thoughts out. :)

So thank you, Jesus, for Molly, for Katelyn, and for Shaynie. Thank you for Lorna and Olivia and Julianna and Alyssa and Christina and Stephanie and Guin and all the people you've blessed me with. Thank you for my family. For my best friend/sister (no, really, she is my sister) Paige. For my parents, my grandma, my nana on the other side. For life, writing, volleyball, water, music, health, laughter, swimming, jumping, hyperness, and everything else I love.

Bring in 2011. Bring in new beginnings, new stories, new laughter, quiet days, and a chance to begin again. Let yourself really live. I know I want to!

favorite photo taken of me in 2010...thanks Livia!


Friday, December 10, 2010

Narnia, baby!

It's been a few days since I last posted, and I don't do posts about my actual life very often, so here's a treat for you! Tomorrow, one of my best friends Molly and I are going shopping and then to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I have been waiting for this movie since, like, Prince Caspian came out. (which I LOVE, by the way. Forget what others critics say--it's one of my favorite movies!) The two of us haven't been to the movies together since Percy Jackson and the Olympians in February, so it's about time. :)


this is an old photo, taken last January. We both look so much younger!

I love, love, love Narnia. Like I said in a previous post, I'm not one of the die-hard fans who gets all angry when one word of the original book is changed--I actually prefer the movies. I know, how traitorous! But it's true. And, I suppose partly in honor of the movie, partly because I wanted to, and partly because I had nothing else to draw, I did a picture of Aslan last night and one of Reepicheep today. I never thought before I was good at animals--people are my forte--but they turned out to be a lot of fun. So much fun that I plan to frame both and put them on my wall. :)

Then on Sunday night, me and another dear friend, Katelyn, are going to a Christmas party for her youth group. So I'm pretty much set for a busy, fun weekend with my buddies. Missing, of course, are my other buddies....Shaynie, Olivia, Lorna, Alyssa, Bronwyn, Ellie, Gail, Beth, Stephanie, Caroline, and all my fantastic buddies here on Blogger--Guin, Ellyn, Mirriam, Eldarwen, Bleah, Hannah of Aspire, Hannah M, Margaret Rowena, Sierra, Elizabeth Rose, The Golden Eagle, Memzie, Melody, Charming Elephant, Olive Tree-now-Olivia, Sabryna, Cassie, Milisande, Antonia, Lizzy, Autumn, Nahla, and the rest of you fantastic people who know how awesome you are. It may be very over-used, but it's true--I love you guys! :)

Anyways, I think this post has veered off its original course, which was Narnia. I'll leave you now with two pictures...the first is my favorite of me and Katelyn, and the second is a tribute to Narnia. You can be sure I'll be wearing that necklace tomorrow to the movie theater!




Dun-dun-dun...

NARNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


edit: i just read over this post, and...wow. can you make any sense of it? definitely not one of my best. :)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Caroline and Katelyn {a preview}

A couple of weeks ago, one of my besties, Katelyn, came over and we had a photo shoot. Here's a sample.:)

Now, most of these lovely shots, as you can see, were taken by Katelyn. You can visit her photography blog, Capture the Moment, here. (all edits were done by me.)

(most of them are of me...I'll try to get some more of Katelyn.:D)

Wow...I just adore this photo, especially in black and white.


Private eyes, they're watching you...following your every move...

Such a good model :)


The woods in backyard are the perfect place to pose. I always imagine Sherwood Forest, and if I just whistle, Robin and the boys will come running out of the trees...*faints*
Katelyn thinks I'm obsessed with Robin Hood. What would possibly give her that idea?;)


I love the color of her eyes.



This fan was an excellent prop. :D

This vintage looking one is probably my favorite.

Which do you like best?

Stay tuned for more!

Monday, September 27, 2010

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you

You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through.

Those lyrics to "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman have really stood out to me lately. Cause lately...I've gone up and downs with friendships. One minute I'm soaring, laughing and hanging out with one friend, and then the next, a surge of jealousy over another friend hits me, and I'm down in the friendship dumps the rest of the day. I'm a jealous friend. I admit it.

But not yesterday.

I'm sure you've heard me mention one of my bestest, most amazing friends on this blog many times before--Molly. This girl is awesome, let me tell you. We haven't even known each other for a year and yet we're super close, best buddies, partners-in-crime, and all the rest.

It'll be one year in November that we've known each other, I think. Of course, when we first met, we were shy and a little tentative. Who is this girl living next door? Is she as crazy as I am? I wonder if she likes to write, too? Is she a Christian? Will she think it's weird that I'm homeschooled?

Almost a year later, it's all gone.

She's Molly, one of my bffs. She's totally crazy, but we balance each other. She likes to write but her thing is music and running. She's a Christian just like me. Oh yes, and she thinks I'm a freak cause I'm homeschooled. (jk...or not...)

Seriously. Whoever it was who said "Friends are a gift from God" was absolutely right. When I moved here not even a year ago, I know no one. No friends. Who knows who I could've gotten as my next door neighbor? Maybe an annoying nine year old who wouldn't stop pestering me. A family with all boys. A family with tiny kids. A girl I wouldn't get along with at all. Maybe a nice girl, but with no possibility of becoming one of my best friends.

Instead, Molly is my neighbor. She's random. Spontaenous. Funny. A day dreamer. We constantly spout Robin Hood and Youtube quotes to each other ("That KILLS people, Carl!" "Oh, I did not know that!"). We can laugh, make fun of each other, and just be us.
God is why we're next door neighbors. Isn't He amazing?

Yesterday afternoon, we were in the process of making our music video--which, by the way, is pretty darn amazing and will be uploaded after we finish making it--when we got bored. Strike that, we got a snack, then watched iCarly (I secretly love that show) and decided to go to my house to find something exciting to do. We get outside...and it's pouring rain. Like a monsoon, baby.

Molly: On the count of seven!
Me: On the count of ten!
(I think we comprised somewhere in the middle.)

We dash out, screaming, and run across the driveway and my sideyard and up my porch steps. Once inside...

Me: We should do that again.

So back out we go, running into the rain and down the driveway and still screaming. We start dancing (DINOSAUR DANCE!!!!!) and run back up the driveway and run laps around the cars. Ok, now we'll go inside!

Molly: Let's do it again. No shoes!
Me: we'll get muddy! (attention: I love mud. My mom doesn't.)

But we go shoeless anyways. We're getting pretty wet and I can barely see anything (glasses) but hey...why stop?

Me: we're gonna catch pneumonia!!!!
Molly: I don't care!!!!!! Let's rain to my mailbox and up my driveway and around my car and back down my driveway and up your driveway and around your car!!!
Me: .... what?

I could narrarate (gosh I can never spell that word) the rest of it for you, but you get the idea!

Or maybe you don't....

Cause it was amazing. I think just to feel that rain on my face and do something crazy, and spontaenous, with one of my best friends...it's what I needed. We didn't care that we go soaking wet. We didn't care about having to change clothes. We just did it. Screaming, laughing, jumping in puddles, catching raindrops on our tongues, going barefoot in it all, and even sitting down in it. (That was me...and then Molly started splashing me...you are going DOWN for that!!!)

It was pretty darn special. That's all I can say, because we each have times with our friends that are indescribible (gosh, another problem word) and this is one of those times.

We came back inside, dried off and got into pajamas, and made mint brownies. (heavenly they were, too...) And then. It happened.

Molly....

went....

boneless.

*cue horror music*

I'm not sure why she was lying on the kitchen floor in the first place, but then I started dragging her by the hand, and it was a total Shawn and Gus moment. "Don't go boneless on me, Shawn, don't go boneless!" It's even funnier considering that we ARE like Shawn and Gus. (I wanted to be Shawn. I got stuck with Gus. It's kind of sad that we actually are similar.)

You've got your troubles...I've got 'em too.
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. (mostly)
We stick together and we see it through.

That was my day. My amazing day. My spectacular day. My day with one of my b.f.f.e.a.e.a.e.



buddies.

amigas.

pals.

friends.

sisters.

Love you, girl!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I'm Pressing On

In August I did a guest post for Melody at Vividry. While I got wonderful feedback from Melody, Guin, and Alexandra, that's about all I got...so I'm reposting it (with Melody's permission) here. My original post can be found on Melody's blog here. This post was originally written for Vividry.

*****

Moving on.

Whatever the situation, it's one of the hardest things we must do. Friendships...ideas...dreams...our memories are steeped in the past while we forget about our lives in the present.

As of last November, I'd moved three times in the past year and a half. With my first move, I missed my old friends desperately and would have given anything to "go back home." And each time I visited my friends and family where I used to live, I got a little more distant, a little more detached--sometimes without my knowing it.

One year ago, all I wanted was to move back to where I used to live. I remember mistakenly wishing that I had never moved to the Midwest.

But I wouldn't trade anything in the whole world for the one year I spent out there. Not another year back in my old home, another year with my old friends, another year anywhere else. Because in each place I've been, God has given me friends and experiences that in my mind are worth far more than any worldly possession.

At the same time, He was slowly prying me apart from my old friends. I think of friendships that were, friendships that used to be so strong, and I want to cry because the girls are so different now, it's like I don't know them. And a part of my mind thinks, If I hadn't moved, if I had stayed here, maybe we would still be friends...I wouldn't have missed out all the things they did together, without me...

Yes, that's true. I'd have an entire year of memories with them, in my old home.

And an entire year in the Midwest wouldn't be in my memory. Those friends, the girls I became so close with, I wouldn't even know. The family vacations, the sleepovers, the youth group meetings, the freezing cold winter (well, that I'm not missing too much), the volleyball practices, the laughter. Something would be missing, a really big something, a huge part of my life.

It take me a long time to realize that that part of my life lives in my memory, but it's not who I am anymore. I love that part of my life... but I can't get it back. Rather, God has put me where I am for a reason.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --Jeremiah 29:11

You're where you are now because God has planted you there. Yes, maybe you're missing your friends, your old home, your church. But would God have put you there if he didn't have a plan? Would he do anything without a plan? Is missing someone, or something, any reason to not live life fully? (which is something I struggle with hugely, so don't feel alone.)

At times I still regret my leaving. Old friends have grown close to each other while I've grown farther. But, my sisters in Christ, some of the best advice I can offer you, if you have similiar thoughts--move on! Yes, it's difficult, and I know from having done it myself. But there are friends, memories, places to go and things to see where you are right now, and if you sit back in the past and wish for what's gone, you'll miss it on the life God has given you.

Somewhere back there I left my worries all behind
My problems fell out of the back of my mind

We're g
oing and I'm never knowing where we're going
To go back to where I was would just be wrong

I'm pressing on!
--Pressing On by Relient K

Pressing on doesn't mean you have to forget your past. Keep your memories in your heart and don't let go of them...just don't let them blind you to the blessings and friends Jesus is placing in your life right now.

There's something else I've realized only recently--I don't want to go back. Even if I could, I wouldn't. I'm here now with amazing friends and fantastic oppurtunities, and wherever I am, life has to be lived!

So, my sisters, live it. Wherever you are, whatever the situation, whoever and wherever you're missing, live out your life fully for Jesus--with no regrets!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

You've got a friend in me

I promised pictures, and I'm making good on that promise!

Here's a playlist I created with four songs that fit our time together perfectly.


Get a playlist! Get RingtonesStandalone player

None of these pictures were taken by me. All photos were taken by Ellie, Olivia, my dad, and Paige.
Visit Paige's photography/design website here.

Meet our fabulous cast, from oldest to youngest--


Paige


Ellie

Me

Olivia

Let the fun begin...

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.


"Yes, Piglet?"


Copyright to PixelPaige

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."
--A.A. Milne

Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known. --A.A. Milne

You can't sit in your corner of the forest and wait for people to come to you...

you have to go them sometimes.
--A.A. Milne


If you live to be a hundred...



I hope to live to be one hundred minus one day...



so I never have to live a day without you.
--A.A. Milne



If you want to make a song more hummy, add a few more tiddely poems.
--A.A. Milne


It's so much more friendly with two.
--A.A. Milne


saying nothing...



sometimes say the most.
--Emily Dickinson


Where thou art, that is home.
--Emily Dickinson


To live is so startling...

It leaves little time for anything else.
--Emily Dickinson





Greater love has no man than this...



That he lay down his life for his friends.
--John 15:13



A man of many companions may come to ruin...


but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
--Proverbs 18:24


When the road looks rough ahead


And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed

you just remember what your old pal said



you've got a friend in me.


I miss you, my sweet friends....
I'm so blessed to have met you.
And even more blessed to have friends that I miss so much.
I WILL save up for that plane ticket to come see you!
Love,
Caroline

 
This template designed and installed by Olive Tree @ Robin Blogs.