Before I die...

Aaah! I realize that I've REALLY been neglecting my blogs! My life is always so busy in the spring. Here's a quick post of the things I want to do before I die.

This first list is from way back in 2008:
1. Someday, I want to make a movie.
2. Someday, I want to go body flying.
3. Someday, I want to go to Antarctica.
4. Someday, I want to go to college and see what they know.
5. Someday, I want to go on a missions trip.
6. Someday, I want to join a writing group.
7. Someday, I want to go sailing on an old-fashioned ship.
8. Someday, I want to build a treehouse.
9. Someday, I want to go downhill skiing.
10. Someday, I want to memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Someday, I want to read through the entire encyclopedia.
12. Someday, I want to learn how to sword-fight.

It was fun to go back and look at my dreams from two years ago. Some of these things are exactly the same on the list I wrote today. It's freaky. Without having seen this list for two years, I used some of the same wording! And a few of these things mysteriously dropped off the new list. (I guess I just forget them in some cases, and in the case of the movie and sword-fighting, I've done that somewhat already!)

The new list:
1. Build a treehouse.
2. Finish reading the encyclopedia.
3. Get published.
4. Visit the South Pole Station (or McMurdo Station) in Antarctica.
5. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
6. Go winter camping in the Boundary Waters.
7. See the migrating raptors at Hawk Ridge in Duluth.
8. Go to college and see what they know.
9. Take a road trip from Alaska to Argentina.
10. Memorize a book of the Bible.
11. Learn Quenya. (I've started already)
12. Run through the hills of Austria while singing. :)
13. Gallop bareback on the seashore.
14. Get my driver's license.
15. Sail on a tall ship on open seas.
16. Write 50,000 words in 24 hours. (The most I've done is 12,000)
17. Go on a missions trip.
18. Start a trend. :)

Not necessarily in that order!  So, what do YOU want to do before you die?

Me as Peter Pan :)

When I was little, I was enamored with Peter Pan.  I often pretended that I flew away to the Neverland and had all sorts of adventures. I even drew giant X's on the dirt driveway and scribbled "Land Here" so that if Peter ever flew overhead, he'd come and find me. When I was five years old, I wanted to be Peter Pan for Halloween. My mom said, "But you're a girl!" I didn't care. I didn't want to be Wendy. I had to be Peter Pan. *grin*

So my wonderful mother made these adorable costumes for me and my brother for Trick-or-Treating. (My brother insisted on wearing the eyepatch, even though everyone knows that the only thing Captain Hook lost was his hand.)

Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. They're many years old now, and I had to scan them in.  

Here's another one. Notice my cardboard sword. That's the one part of the costume that my mom let me make. (You really have to use your imagination.) My brother loved holding his candy bucket with the hook. For some reason, people kept asking me if I was Robin Hood. Now how would they think that? I didn't have a bow and arrows! *huff*

Ah, yes. Even years after that Halloween, I would put on the costume and jump on the couch to imagine I was flying. I eventually wore the costume to pieces and had to make a new one. I took an oversized green t-shirt and sewed bits of fabric to it for leaves. Sadly, I couldn't find any pictures of me in my "Martha Pan" outfit. But I did find this:

It's Tiger Lily! I made the headband and one of the drums as part of our homeschooling, and I became certain that I was meant to be an Indian princess. Good times... 

Second to the right, and then straight on till morning!

A Peter Pan Event!

Nina has organized an entire event devoted to Peter Pan! I'm so excited about it! The book by J. M. Barrie has always been one of my favourites. This event is going on RIGHT NOW, and it ends on the 13th. I'm hoping to have a post up in the next couple of days.

Those of you who have been following my blog for ages might remember how much I love altered books. I posted some pictures of my first altered book here and here. Now I'm working on my third project! The theme is simply "Blue."  I connect things with different colors (and I think I have a form of synesthesia), so I thought I'd make a book of those things. Here's the page I did today. You've got circles, ferns, a butterfly, and lots of glazes.  It was so much fun to make! When you take art too seriously, it takes all the joy out of it. Art is supposed to be fun. Do you agree?

Four Fun Facts! (Planting Chums)

It's the final week of Planting Chums, and the instructions this time is simply to post Four Fun Facts about yourself!

Sooooo...

Fact #1 - I climb trees. Even though I'm almost an adult. :) Who says you have to be a kid to enjoy the swaying of the branches in the breeze, and the songs of the birds all around you, and the rough bark on your bare feet? Besides, did you know that tree climbing is an official sport now? It's only a matter of time before it's admitted into the Olympics... (Or so I hope!)

Fact #2 - My room is crammed full of bookshelves (which are all filling up with books). I have three of them, and I live in the smallest room in our house! One bookshelf is devoted to non-fiction and my journals (I've got over twenty of those- I haven't exactly counted them in a while), and another is full of fiction and my novels that I've written, and the smallest one is for audio books, CDs, DVDs, and old used books that I want to turn into works of altered art.

Fact #3 - I never liked Barbies as much as Beanie Babies. Barbies were too girly and grown-up. (Though I did sometimes play with the smaller Stacy doll). Beanies, on the other hand, were: a) animals, which I love;  b) soft enough to throw at my brother and sisters without getting hurt when they beaned me back; c) my brother could play with me- we created a whole fantastic, imaginary world for our Beanies, called (of course) Beanie Land- it had everything from a city of roller coasters to gigantic rooms under the ground, from greedy creatures called "Anenemies" to rockets made out of Tinker Toys... and I'll never forget the time the Nanooks got lost in the Ban-yow Tree! I think the hours we spent adventuring in Beanie Land greatly influenced my writing when I got older. I'm thankful for all the wonderful memories with our Beanies.

Fact #4 - I am having trouble with this last fun fact... Okay, here it is. I LOVE PHOTOSHOP!

Some things I've done with it:

Family Fotos (Planting Chums)

I'm finally ready to put up my Planting Chums post for this week! (Better late than never, right?)

The topic this week is "Family Fotos." I knew at once what I wanted to post, but... These pictures were taken with my mom's film camera, so I had to go get them printed from the negatives. :) Ah, the joys of film...

Welcome to Assateague Island!  Five years ago, my family took a road trip to Washington, D.C., and while we were out East, we decided to visit Chincoteague and Assateague islands in Maryland. (Has anyone read Misty of Chincoteague? This is the place.) We were hoping to see some wild ponies, but they kept their distance, so we walked down to the ocean instead. A lady walked by and asked if we needed someone to take a family portrait, and we thanked her and formed a group by the water's edge. We smiled, and she snapped a picture of us. Nice family picture, huh?

Ah, but the ocean had other plans for us. With our backs turned to the waves, we never saw it coming. A giant wave zoomed forward and attacked us! All of us got very wet feet as we jumped and screeched and tried to get away. And the lady on the beach wound the film and took another picture of us, bless her heart.

After we escaped the angry wave, we all looked at each other and laughed like crazy. And the lady took yet another picture, bless her heart.

These pictures were not staged. What you see is exactly what happened! And we have a record of this hilarious memory, all because of that nice lady on the beach. Thank you, lady, whoever you are!

The World is My Classroom

I made the decision not to go to college right now, so that I can pursue self-directed study. That may sound crazy to some people, but with the support of my parents, I decided that this is the best path for me, for now.

So what am I doing? What is "self-directed study?" I'm using these years to hone my writing skills, to study, practice, and learn more about photography and photo editing, and I'm attempting to capture and compose the music I hear in my head. I'm studying language, the sound and flow of words in English and other tongues. I'm reading books on writing, and analyzing my own writing for ways to improve. I'm journaling, journaling, journaling. I'm experimenting with photography, I'm trying my hand at portraiture. All of these things and more.

I must train myself to think of these years as my "college years," even though I'm not actually going there.  I need to get into that mindset, so that I'll start acting that way, with focused intensity, dedication, and imagination, so that I'll be productive and gain knowledge that will open doors for me in the future. Above all, I'm placing my trust in God's hands. I may not see it yet, but I know he has a plan for my life.


The world is my classroom... and now is the time for learning.