Beautiful People- March/One Year Edition

The moment I saw that this month's questions was meant for a couple, in staying with So She Dances, there was only one couple I knew I could possibly consider doing! Ms. Katelyn Lewis and Mr. David Bradford! :-)
(Oh! Before I begin, in case anyone has been interested in seeing some of So She Dances, a few snippets have been included in my March Snippets of Stories post. ;-)
As always, you can find out more about these posts here. Now, on with this special edition of Beautiful People!

Part 1:

1. Do they believe in anything that most people think is impossible?  That a bilateral amputee can dance, and dance well.

2. Are they strong, or the "damsel/knight in distress" sort? They are a strong couple, and neither are the "distress" sort individually, nor are either over bearing individually.

3. Do they have a special place? (e.g. a corner in his/her bedroom, under a tree...) Well....there's a somewhat hidden little fountain in the corner of the park. That's where they like to go to talk and just enjoy being together.

4. What occupation do they have, or plan on having?  Well, he is a dance instructor, and she is the piano player at his classes plus teaches home economics for any students (home schooled, public schooled, Christian schooled, or whatever) that are interested in participating.

5. Describe their current place of residence.  He has a house of his own that he bought during his first marriage. It's small, but nice, and decorated in a mix of modern and country garden (thanks to Katelyn's influence). She shares a townhouse with a couple other girls who are also teachers.

6. Explain their last crisis. How had they changed when they came out of it?  The last crisis....hmm. I'd say it was when David got an offer to teach for two years at a dance school in a town just outside Paris. He didn't want to go, afraid a long distance relationship would be the kiss of death for them, but she didn't want him to miss  out on such an important opportunity. Eventually, he worked it out with the school to only teach during the summer. He changed by learning to open the door to opportunity and not fear distance in relationships, and she changed by learning not to push him into something he doesn't like the sound of.

7. If they could drive any kind of car they wanted, what would it be?  He would want some sort of fancy sports car, like a Ferrari. She would want something sensible, like an Impala, or cute, like a VW Bug.

8. How do they deal with change?  He takes it, though a bit grudgingly. Still he makes  the best of the situation and does what he needs to to make it work. She goes with the flow, though, she's not "any way the wind blows" either. She accepts change gracefully.

9. If they had to amputate one body part, which one would they choose?  o.O Oh my goodness! You had to ask that! You just had to ask that! Excuse me while I crack up at the irony of that question with this book and my life! :-D  Ahem... Of course, if they had a choice, they would choose the appendages that would not affect their jobs as much. Therefore, he would choose and arm, and she would choose a leg.

10. What would their favorite be at the local coffee shop? His would probably be a double shot espresso with a little sugar. She prefers tea, so she would probably get a chai latte.   

Part 2:

1. How did they meet?  She was assigned the pianist for one of the other teachers at his dance school, after answering a job ad in the newspaper.

2. How do these two deal with conflict?  If they need to, they wait until they've cooled off, then they pray and  talk it out. And they keep working on whatever the conflict is until all is well again.

3. Do they have a special song, phrase, item, or place?  Nocturne No. 2, no, no, the hidden fountain at the park.

4. What kind of things do they like to do together?  They like to take walks, ride bikes, go on picnics, and have quiet reading time together. They also like to do things like going to movies, swing dance nights, and drives. Really, there's a lot they like to do together, even if it not both of their top interests, they just like to be together. :-)

5. Describe their relationship as a whole in 3 words, or less.  Strong and Steady (that counts as one.....right?), Loving, Gentle.  

March Snippets

I was almost worried I wouldn't have anything much for this month, as I really wanted to be able to have something from So She Dances. Well, that spurred me to finally start writing it! ^.^ And, as you'll see, I've included a few snippets from that, as well as my two Faerie books.
Of course, Snippets of Stories is hosted by the fantabulous Katie at Whisperings Of The Pen.

Snippets!

“Well, at least you didn’t say I shouldn’t be exploring the cave at all. So, are you offering to go with me, then? Because, I’ll warn you, I’m determined to explore it, so I’m going with or without you,” she took a stubborn stance.

~Faerie's Grace: Hwinny's Story

They watched her sail out into the distance. She was a fast ship, built for speed in her size. It was perfect. Just what they needed, and she returned having proved herself to the fullest. 

~Faerie's Grace: Hwinny's Story

When they entered the village, it almost felt like a ghost town. Nobody was out on the streets, and it wasn’t even past sunset. There were hardly even any signs of life coming out of the various houses and buildings. 

~Faerie's Grace: Hwinny's Story

Her feet were starting to ache, she felt fidgety and restless, and she wanted to find out why mother was empty now. Naji had overheard a few courtiers mention that the queen would be placed into one of the royal family crypts the next day- Naji guessed it was because her mother was empty. Did empty people get put into crypts? Why? Her five year old mind was very inquisitive. 

~Faerie's Love: Naji's Story

“But why?” Naji questioned, “Why must it be black? I don’t like black. It is the one color I do not understand.”

~Faerie's Love: Naji's Story

Talitha let her mind wander, carried off by the music to distant worlds- worlds where she could dance as well as any of the people in the room.

~So She Dances

Talitha sat on the bed pulling her legs out of the sockets of her prosthetics. Her stumps had been so hot inside them after such a long day with all that walking, she had sometimes felt like her legs were on fire. The cooler air now on them felt very refreshing. She sat there for a moment, enjoying the sensation, rubbing her stumps gently to get the burning feel of the former heat off them.

~So She Dances

“I felt like watching something funny, yet whimsical, so I chose Nanny McPhee. Sound okay to you?” Michelle double checked.

“Yah, that’s fine.” A smug smile spread across Tallie’s face, “You know me. I’ll take Colin Firth any day!” The two girls laughed and squeed in mutual fan girl delight.

~So She Dances

Comfort and Joy

No, this is not a Christmas themed post. This is another post I was quite delayed on- my favorite things post. Joining in line with the likes of  Megan, Abigail, Anna, and Katie, I have decided to make a list as well.
The things that follow are those that bring just what the title says, or give me that sunny or bubbly feeling inside. Or a calm quiet happiness.

Window seats with cushions ~ Sunlight through glass block windows ~ Lying in sunspots on the floor ~ Big, overstuffed armchairs next to large windows ~ Light Classical music in the afternoon with sunlight streaming through the window ~ Worship music ~ Celtic music ~ Jazz music, especially old fashioned Jazz and piano, bass, and drum trios ~ Breezes wafting through open windows ~ Cool Fall days ~ Warm Spring days ~ Gazebos ~ Hidden corners in libraries ~ Four poster canopy beds with beautiful hangings, and tall enough to need a step stool to get onto them ~ Cupboarded or curtained beds ~ The sound and sight of rain from sitting in a parked car ~ Road to Avonlea ~ Fairy tales ~ BBC Merlin ~ Lip gloss and lipstick ~ Creamy white and dark crimson roses ~ White lilacs ~ Lilac scent ~ White tulips ~ White tea and ginger scent ~ Christmas lights (white and multi-colored) hung around a room ~ Fleecy blankets ~ Super soft mattresses and pillows ~ Tea ~ Faeries ~ Kitties ~ Bunnies ~ Hugs ~ Small, hideaway places ~ The tower at CFN Poland ~ The Eiffel Tower when it sparkles at midnight ~ Dreamy  and brilliant color photography ~ Black and white photography ~ Rich, dazzling lighting ~ Fireflies ~ Butterflies ~ Christmas music ~ Musicals ~ Christmas trees with or without presents underneath~ My nieces and nephew ~ Sonic screwdriver ~ Walks around CFNI campus ~ Squeeing over Austen (and other) heroes with friends ~ Cucumbers ~ People playing with my hair ~ My favorite books ~ Things that make me think of England and English things ~ Irish and Celtic stuff ~ Photos of Ireland ~ Historical dresses from Medieval through Victorian ~ Lovely parks ~ Creating stories in my mind, some to write down and some just for the moment ~ Jewel toned and pastel toned blues, purples, and greens ~ Starbucks Blended Cremes ~ Cream and gold, maybe with touches of burgundy ~ Chocolate (plain or combined with mint or peanut butter) ~ Hot soaking baths ~ Getting letters and packages in the mail ~ Fun and serious conversations with friends ~ The fountain at Highland Park Village ~ Old Town Warsaw and Gdansk ~ Sweet, ripe berries ~ Watermelon ~ Grand Haven Pier ~ Library book sales ~ Bath-Junkie ~ Looking over Stony Lake from the red swing at Camp AO-WA-KIYA ~ BBC Narnia ~ Dream Day computer game series ~ My favorite books ~ Discovering new favorite books ~ Opera ~ Guitar music ~ Playing my guitar when no one is around ~ Masquerade masks ~ Flower circlets ~ Scarves and hats ~ Historical, cultural, and literary paper dolls ~ Getting a photo just right ~ Autumn Wreath scented candles ~ My old teddy bear and Samantha doll ~ Seeing my DVDs well organized ~ Caleb and Hwinny ~ People watching at the mall ~ Bunica and Moshu's (now Joel's) house ~ Inside jokes that don't grow old ~ Lifescapes music ~ Things from my childhood ~ The unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor of God ~ Nights of Worship ~ Shalom ~ Basking in the love of God

  

"God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay...

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!"

Cup O' Tea

I'm afraid this post is long overdue. I promised it some weeks ago, but unforeseeable circumstances delayed it. Still, it is here now.

  If you couldn't tell by the title of this post, it is a post about tea! Lovely, lovely tea! What did people ever do before the discovery and wide distribution of tea?! How did they live!

Now, I'm not going to go into the history of tea itself. This post is merely a rambling of my favorite teas, tea/snack pairings, and some tea tips. Okay, there might be a bit of my personal history with tea. I'll try to keep it somewhat organized, but I can't promise anything.

I must first say that my love of tea truly started the first time I went to Poland on a mission trip. We had to drink lots of it to stay warm, it was so cold! And there was a lovely black tea that one of the churches we were working with gave us each morning. I had liked tea well enough before that (especially peppermint and honey vanilla chamomile), but it was that trip and being around my friend Rachel (a fellow tea lover) that made me truly appreciate it.

My only problem is that I can  no longer handle caffeine except in very small quantities. But here are some interesting facts about dealing with that in tea:

• Caffeine is water soluble, so, if you do not have a decaf tea available to you, all you have to do is steep your tea for 20-30 seconds, then dump that liquid. Steep your tea again for a normal cup, and it will have a much lower caffeine content.
• White tea has only 1% the caffeine of coffee, green tea has 5-10%, Oolong has 10-15%, black has 20%, and Mate' (mah-tay) has a full 100%
• Rooibos (African Red Bush) and most herbal teas are naturally caffeine free.

I have three top favorite tea brands: Twinings, Celestial Seasonings, and Teavana. There are other brands I have tried and liked, too, but these are my main three. Although, I must give an honorable shout out to Red Rose brand, as that is my family's all around favorite regular black tea brand- I think it's a Canadian brand.

I love Twinings for their black tea blends. My favorite is their Irish Breakfast Tea- nice dark and hearty with at least three teaspoons of sugar. I also love their English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Lady Grey teas.

Celestial Seasonings is my go to for herbal. They have such a wide variety it's hard not to find one you like. My favorites from them are Mint Magic, Honey Vanilla Chamomile, Gingerbread Spice (a holiday tea- sorry, it only comes out at Christmas), and Tension Tamer. I also always keep their Echinacea Complete Care and their Tummy Mint teas on hand in the house, too.

I love to pair my Mint Magic tea with Oreos! I know it's not exactly a healthy pairing, and some think it kind of strange, but it's so good! ^.^

The Gingerbread Spice is good anytime of the year, in my opinion, even if it is only available in stores during the holidays. Add a little sugar and a little half and half, and it's a wonderful creamy gingerbread tea late! And why not pair it with a slice of gingerbread cake with whipped cream. ;-)

Tension Tamer should come with a warning for first-time users. Though, it could have just been me.... Its purpose is just what the label says- to help relax tension in the body. I, however, the first time I had it, after only having four little Chinese style teacups (that all together don't even equal a whole mug) of it, got really silly. My friends had to promptly take it away and put me on green tea for the rest of the night. But it's a lovely flavor blend of lemon, mint, and cinnamon. Some people don't like it, but I think it's wonderful! (by the way, that's the only time I ever got like that after having that tea- it never affected me like that since)

Tummy Mint (and other peppermint based teas minus Mint Magic)  is the only one I'll drink completely unsweetened. I was forced to at a hotel once, when there was no honey to be had, and I couldn't use sugar because sweetening an herbal to with sugar makes it lose all its health benefits. So, I had to take it straight...and eventually learned to like it better that way.

When it comes to Teavana, I've not actually had much experience with their teas outside the samples they offer at their stores. But those samples are absolutely awesome! They only sell loose leaf teas, and they have such a unique variety! They even have chocolate teas!!!! They love to give suggestions on tea mixes- where you mix two or three different flavored teas to gain a whole new flavor! They also sell very nice, very good quality (and, yes, very expensive, some of it) tea equipment. I would highly recommend checking out one of their stores, if there is one near you. It's well worth it. If there isn't one near you, their website is still worth a look- even if you do have a store near you, as there is more on the site that isn't in stores.

Some other teas I haven't mentioned....

I have tried one of Celestial Seasoning's white teas and their Madagascar Vanilla Rooibos, and they are very good.

As for somewhat random flavors I like- a good apple cinnamon, mixed fruit, and jasmine (I especially loved this one my friend Rachel had...so fragrant).

Bigalow's Constant Comment is a nice tea, too.

And who can forget a good Chai latte (hot or iced)!

Now, when it comes to iced tea, I like raspberry well enough, but I love peach. What I really love, though, is Fuze Green Tea with Honey and White Tea Orange Blossom (bottles sold in stores). Those are heavenly!

Oh! Did you know, when it comes to hydrating the body, yes you should mostly drink water, but you can sub a couple of those servings with green tea? Green tea is the only beverage that naturally hydrates the body as well (or nearly so) as water. But, of course, water should be your first choice. ;-)

Some of my other favorite things to pair with tea? Milano cookies, toast, chocolate....I guess anything goes, really! (well...almost)

I'm afraid all this doesn't even touch all the different teas that I actually own. 

I suppose those shall have to wait for another day. After all, it is now....

^.^

Testing...testing...1-2-3...

If you can see this post...if it comes up on your posts by blogs you follow list-thingy...please comment and let me know. I've been having issues lately, and I want to see if something I did worked.

Thanks! :-)

Beautiful People- February: Dominic Chase

  So, it's that time again, and if you want to check out what Beautiful People is about, just visit Georgianna's blog. This month's questions just seemed to lend themselves to my character Dominic from my current work-in-progress So She Dances. And they have definitely led me to discover some things about his background that I had never realized before. So, here goes.


1. If your character could be played by an actor, who would it be?  Well, from the picture it should be obvious. Bradley James, all the way!

2. Does your character have a specific theme song?  Not really, though, "You're So Vain" does come to mind... Also, I think, if he were to finally one day get saved (no, he is not currently a Christian), it would be the Newsboys song "Joy".

3. What's their worst childhood memory?  I'll try to summerize a long-ish story. Basically his aunt moved in with his family when she got kicked out of her parents' house after getting pregnant- unwed. Without telling any of them until after she had done so, Dominic's aunt had an abortion. She soon suffered severe emotional trauma, which affected the whole family. Dominic was only seven years oldd at the time, but it is the basis for an answer to a question below.
 
4. If your character had a superpower, what would it be?  It would be super strength- so he could impress the girls even more.
 
5. If your character crashed on an island with a bunch of other people, how could your character help the group survive?  I think he would more annoy the other people than help them, especially since he does have strong leadership qualities but he would want to use those to try to get people to do things his way and not anyone else's. However, if no one stepped up to lead and organize, he would probably do it...but people would still think him bossy.

6. Are they married? If not, do they someday wish to be?  No, he's not. He does want to get married, but only to a girl he thinks is worthy of himself.
 
7. What is a cause they would die for?   In spite of all his faults, one thing he feels very strongly about, due to the event mentioned above, is that he is strongly Pro-Life. I don't know if he would neccessarily go so far as to die for it, but it could come close.

8. Would they rather die fighting valiantly, or quietly at home?  Fighting valiantly. Definitely. He feels that if it were any other way, people would think less of him.

9. If a stranger walked up to them and told them they were the child of the prophesy, would they believe them?  No way! Now, he would probably think that if anyone had the ability to be, it would be himself, and that it would probably be cool, but he would never take it seriously- and he would think the person batty.
 
10. Do they prefer the country, or the city?  City boy, all the way. There are very few instances where you would actually catch him in the country...and I can't think of them off hand.

Story Snippets- February

  First, just let me say how I can't belive it is February already! That said, my dear friend Katie has started a monthly blog thingy where you can post little snippets of the various works you have been working on, etc. I think it is an awesome idea, and that is what I am here for today.

As I haven't actually written anything for So She Dances yet, I shall be featuring my two Faerie's Virtues books that I have completed.

"He was teasing, and Cherry couldn’t help but smile and retort. 'Well, then, sir, your fears have been realized. I am a tea sweetener. "No tea unsweetened" is my motto.'"

~Faerie's Grace: Hwinny's Story

 

"The next two days were spent in a mix of relaxation and slightly anxious anticipation. Everyone was on edge waiting to hear an answer, but no answer came before Naji and Purity were to leave. The morning of departure came and went, and, as soon as the coach was out of sight, Caleb and Hwinny gathered what they would need for an overnight and made their way back through the long tunnel."

~Faerie's Grace: Hwinny's Story

"Hwinny and Caleb looked at each other. They knew they existed, and that the alliance between the two races was probably true, but here was absolute proof. 'We believe they do,' Hwinny told him. 'In fact, we know they do, and we’re going to stop them.'"

~Faerie's Grace: Hwinny's Story

“I know many of you, today, hold memories of my mother- memories of her I will never have; even memories of her before I and my lost sister were ever born. It was her grief over my missing sister that brought on her cruel fate- for fate it is when a Faerie does not live to fade but dies before their time, as if they were mortal. Our memories of her are bittersweet. She was beautiful and kind, and loved my father and myself dearly, and I wish she had been able to spend more time with us as I grew. As it is, most of my memories are mixed together. Some seeing her happy and smiling as she watched me play or played with me, or as she and my father talked over happy things that I was yet too young to understand. These memories soon blur and flow into memories of her sighing and walking around melancholy as something had suddenly brought memories of her missing child to the forefront of her mind, making her tender heart break even more. I choose, however, to remember her in the light of the former- laughing and singing, and teaching me what lessons she could."

~Faerie's Love: Naji's Story

“You see, the Mountain Keepers have a rather large thirst for knowledge. It does not matter too much what kind of knowledge, as long as it is useful to us, and we will take it from anywhere. Technology is one of the most useful forms of knowledge that we have gained from the mortal world. You Faeries have only gone so far as to have electricity. We have gone far enough to have certain forms of electronics.”

~Faerie's Love: Naji's Story

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