*shakes head*

Have you ever...gone to your grandparents' house, pulled out a movie that you have heard a lot of good things about, put it into your laptop with your younger siblings, watched it go from good to mediocre to awkward to bad to just plain horrible before your very eyes, had to try and explain away the crude remarks and bad parts to your seven-year-old brother, and got so irritated at the whole thing that you felt like snapping the disc? Mmhm. Well I have. Just yesterday, in fact. It was as pleasant and relaxing as stepping in dog poop is (and yep, I've done that too).

Marley and Me can be summed up in one word: inappropriate (I would describe it as "SO HIGHLY, EXTREMELY, AND UTTERLY INAPPROPRIATE THAT I COULD SCREAM"...but that's ten words, not one). I hated it, hated it, hated it, hated it, hated it...need I go on? It is a highly inappropriate movie disguised under the rating PG! There. Be warned--just because some guy with his head in the clouds decided to rate it PG doesn't mean it deserves to be rated PG.

I would give you a heated list of reasons why it is highly inappropriate, but that would make this post highly inappropriate, and, if I can help it, I try not to make my posts inappropriate...

Besides the highly inappropriate things, it was lame. The jokes were so non-funny that they were laughable, there was a bad message of "who cares about morals, live life dirty, to heck with consequences" (and yes, I am so disgusted by the stupid message that I am not even giving it proper punctuation marks), and John's (the main character) friends were just plain stupid. Plus his boss scared me.

Supposedly it's really sad. I stopped it when there was about 50 minutes left (couldn't take it anymore), before it got supposedly sad.

I find it really hard to believe that it's sad. It's too lame to even provoke any stronger emotion than disgust. Who cares that the dog dies? It was twisted...and its owners' "ha ha ha let's write about our dog's misfortunes in the newspaper...and ha ha ha it's so funny that let's make up some really inappropriate statements about it...ha ha ha that'll make it funnier" attitude was twisted.

Ugh. Let's just say that that movie was inappropriate--whatever your age is.

Anyways--I got the music for Up for violin. Just that one part at the beginning, where it chronicles Elli and Mr. Fredreckson's (can never remember his first name!) marriage. It's so pretty--I love it. I can't stop humming it in my head when I'm not playing it. :)

Off to watch The Two Towers with my younger siblings--at least I know that movie's not innapropriate and safe for younger eyes. :P

Lonely

Experimenting with masks.

photo courtesy of photobucket.com. selective coloring done by bekah.

Happy Blogoversary to...ME! ;)

Today was the day on which I created my blog. It was originally called Live, Laugh, Love & Write (yes, yes, very original title, was it not? :P), and my first posts were...well, okay, the only word to describe them are embarrassing. I am tempted to delete them. I am only keeping them up there for memory's sake. (don't laugh/snort too hard as you re-read them...okay, maybe they're not so much funny...more like stupid? ^^)

Thank you guys so much for reading The Word Crafter. Your comments always make my day. ;)

Blogging has been super good for me--thanks for following along. :)

(and sorry for not writing a long emotional post...lots going on right now.)

Nostalgic

Nostalgic⋅a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

You ever get like that? When you just wish you could go back to so-and-so time?

I was struck with this feeling today, as I was looking back. I was reading my very first diary, when I was nine years old. My biggest problems in those days were forgetting to make my bed and getting in "trouble" because of it, or going a week without seeing my best friend. My nine-year-old self, preserved in the pages of that diary, is so different from my twelve-almost-thirteen-year-old self. It's only been three years, and yet I have changed so much. My problems then were so different from my problems now.

This change is normal, I suppose--growing up. But it's hard. I am going through doors which are slamming behind me--I can't go back. My childish innocence is gone. Gone are the days when I believed fairies were real, and spent my time trying to find one. Gone are the days when I tucked my dolls into bed at night, then ran back to peek into the room to see if they were moving. Gone are the days when I blindly believed the world was full of goodness and love. Gone are the days when I trusted without reservation in God, before worldly doubts started creeping in.

Doors slammed shut. I can't re-open them.

As heart-wrenching as these losses have been, God has been telling me it's okay. Last night, as I was feeling especially nostalgic, I opened my Bible, and my eyes caught on this verse.

"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthinas 13:11

And I realized that I had lost things. I had lost innocence. But I gained maturity. Doubts crept in, but along with them, determination to root them out.

Some days, I still doubt God. I forget to let Him be the highest priority in my life. I forget to trust Him without reservation. It's human nature; I can't completely erase these doubts.

But I can fight them. I can fight them with His Word. I can fight them with prayer.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. Pslam 13:5

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7

Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light. John 12:36

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

May God fill you with trust in Him today. May He draw near to you. May He draw near to me. May He dispel our doubts, our worries, our anxieties. May He fill you with joy. May He fill you with love. For He loves you.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8

Catching Up

I feel like I haven't written a real post in such a long time. Neither am I promising a real post now--just finished writing an essay, so I'm creatively-drained. (Yes, an essay does require creativity. ;) This post is simply to catch up.

Isn't my new blog-design beautiful? And it was a complete surprise. Hannah is so awesome in that way. She's super talented, and I get to benefit from it. ;) (And this was done with paint.net. Which is the lamest photo-editing software out there. Be prepared to be amazed when she gets her laptop and Gimp/Photoshop CS4. [She's unbelievable with Gimp...with Photoshop CS4? Even better....if that's possible... ^^])

Last night, I went to a place called Crisis Nursery for my service-environment (the mentoring program clumps "pods" [groups of mentor-mentees] together and sends them off once a month to serve). My mentor, my two friends Rachel and Kelli (and their mentors), and I drove to the Nursery. We got a tour of the place, and then made snack for the eighteen kids (from 3 months to four or five). After we made it and served the kids, we got to sit down and hang out with them. I sat by the sweetest girl ever--Lillian Trost (she showed me her wristband that had all her information on it). She was three, the sweetest thing EVER! She sat on my lap, and I fed her apple-sauce. (yes, she wouldn't eat it unless I was feeding her. ;) And there was this other three-year-old, who had this odd name, like Darajon, or something like that. He jumped into my arms, laid his head on my shoulder, and just let me hold him for a long time. Then he took the pony-tail around my wrist and "did" my hair. (It looked ridiculous--it was a high, sloppy bun on the top of my head--but it was so cute to have him doing it ;) He wouldn't let me un-do it for a while. Kelli would look at me and crack up--it was pretty funny. ;)

Lately, I've been listening to Superman by Five For Fighting, over and over again. I heard it on the radio, loved it, bought it on iTunes, got it on my iPod, and have been listening to it ever since. I've memorized it. ;)

This Monday I'm going to start on the first song of the next violin Suzuki book, and the old one will retire to an honored place on the shelf--to be thumbed through when I feel the need to review.

I'm going to leave you with this picture (in appreciation of Hannah's efforts on my design, of course ^^)...we're such dorks sometimes. (We weren't laughing about anything; Hannah just wielded the camera and we both cracked up...over nothing. ^^)

SURPRISE!

This is Hannah from Aspire...just wanted to SURPRISE Bekah, (and you, readers) with a blog makeover.

Feedback? Comment HERE as well as on my blog...hehehe...would love to hear what you think about it.

Hope you like it, Bekah! :)

--Hannah

I Would Love...

...for you to go check out my Blogger-friend Nicole's blog, Nicole's Soul. "Checking out" does, of course, mean follow. ;)

My Photography Blog

Alright, even though I have not ordered my Nikon yet (ordering it this weekend), I have created my photography blog: Bekah Grace Photography. I still need to do a lot of tweaking: the background, header, and nav bar are all temporary. All the pictures posted are used with my old digital camera. (And I know that I say in my "About The Blog" that I ordered my Nikon and am very happy with it--well, not quite. But I AM going to order it, and I WILL be very happy with it. ;)

(Agh, yes, my post title has goofy colors--those are my photography blog's colors. I will be creating a new Webs account just for this blog soon.)

Later,

Short Excerpt of Elgaroth

I thought I would share a short excerpt (actually the Prologue) or Elgaroth--my novel that I'm working on.

This is completely un-edited. I haven't shown it to anyone. Please tell me exactly what you think--even if you think it's miserable. I love critique. ^^ (Don't judge the Prophecy of the Three too harshly--I know it's pathetic. I stink at writing prophecies.)

Prologue




IT WAS RAINING. The forest was silent except for the gentle noises of the rain pattering onto the mossy ground.

Then through the forest came the sounds of horses galloping. A black-clothed woman leaned over a black horse, urging it forward. A garbled word rolled off her tongue, and the foaming beast increased its speed.

Behind her, mounted on white horses, rode three men, their muddied white robes flapping behind them. They formed a half-circle around her, all of them reaching for their swords to cut her down, when the woman’s steed sprang to the left, knocking one of the white horses out of the way.

“Come back, Araldar!” called one of the white-men. “You don’t deserve to be used like this!”

“Trissa has offered me more then you could ever give,” spat Araldar, veering off to the side, causing the others to follow her.

“Perhaps, but she requires a much dearer price—your soul!”

“Leave me alone,” she said bitterly. “She deserves to read the prophecy. She deserves to be warned.”

“She is evil, Araldar! Her downfall will be the best thing that has ever happened to Elgaroth since the days of Creation.”

“She is powerful,” the woman corrected. “Unlike you,” she muttered resentfully and then commanded “Run!” to her horse. The panting steed bolted away with unnatural dexterity, outrunning the others, as it was given Dark energy.

The white riders reined their horses in, each rider patting his horse’s neck as they watched the black horse disappear between the trees.

The oldest-looking one bent his head. “It is over,” he whispered.

***
“My Queen,” Araldar dropped to one knee, her head bowed respectfully, offering the mud-splattered roll of parchment to the enthroned woman. “I have retrieved it. I have retrieved the prophecy that concerns you.”

“Well done,” said the woman coldly, reaching out a spidery hand and taking the roll. She unrolled it, and her black eyes quickly scanned the fine script printed on it.

PROPHECY OF THE THREE

THE PARALLEL WEAKENS;

THE WORLD OF SHADOW

FALLS INTO EVIL.

WHEN ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST,

THEN SHALL THE THREE APPEAR.

ONE SHALL TURN TO EVIL;

ONE SHALL DIE FOR THE OTHER TWO;

THE OTHER MAY KILL THE QUEEN,

OR SUFFER HER EVERLASTING WRATH.

ONE HAS HEALING POWERS,

ONE HAS THE GIFT TO SEE AHEAD;

BUT THE THIRD IS THE MOST DANGEROUS

WITH DESTRUCTION AS HER SWORD.


BUT WHAT ARISES FROM THE MUCK

WILL NOT EASILY SUCCUMB;

THE EVIL ONE’S GREATEST WEAPON

IS BUILT TO OVERCOME.


ON THESE THREE

THE FATES OF ALL REST.

WITHOUT THEM, EVIL SHALL DEFEAT ALL ELSE.


BUT IF THE THREE SHOULD SUCCEED

ALL IS NOT AS IT SEEMS,

FOR THE DEEP EVIL, THOUGH WEAKENED

SHALL STILL REMAIN.


AGAIN SHALL DARKNESS CONSUME THE LAND,

AND AGAIN SHALL ELGAROTH’S SAVIORS APPEAR.

BUT THIS TIME ONLY ONE SHALL COME,

MORE POWERFUL THEN THOSE BEFORE.


THE ONE WILL STRIVE TO

COMPLETE THE WORK SET BEFORE HER;

BUT WHETHER SHE SHALL SUCCEED,

EVEN THE PROPHETS CANNOT TELL.


BEWARE, EVIL OF THE LAND,

FOR YOUR DOWNFALL IS DRAWING NIGH.

The queen allowed the roll to curl back up. Her face was a mask, but her eyes were hard and furious. “So they try to scare me, do they?” she finally asked calmly, casting the scroll onto the floor carelessly. “It was a weak attempt,” her lip curled as she spoke the words.

“But, my Queen,” Araldar protested, furious that she was so nonchalant to this danger. I went to all this trouble, and this is how she responds, she thought, enraged. “Surely you will takes some precaution and send spies to Earth?”

Trissa glared at her arrogantly through half-shut lids. She considered this prospect for a long while before finally hissing, “You are disrespectful. But I will send spies to Earth.”

“Thank you, my Queen. I am glad you are wise enough to take this path.”

Trissa’s eyes flashed angrily at Araldar’s implication; the traitorous elf, catching the look, hurriedly added, “Your wisdom regardless should never be challenged. However foolish prophecies may seem, they need always be heeded.” Araldar bowed deeply, then turned and left.

As the door shut behind her servant, Trissa picked up the scroll again, and read it one more time. For the first time in years, she felt an icy blade of fear pierce her soul.

“They will die,” she vowed. “Every one of them.”

 © Bekah Grace

Hope that wasn't too mediocre or cliche or utterly lame. Please comment and tell me what you think. Input is vital in the blossoming of this story. ^^ (And no, at the present moment, I don't have a book-cover. I should do that on Gimp one of these days.)

The Nikon D40x

I have been wanting a nice, professional camera for a while now. I have around seven hundred dollars--but am looking for one in the two hundred-five hundred dollar range.
At first, I thought I would buy a Nikon D40. This camera looked perfect for me. I was disappointed it didn't have movie, but that didn't put me off.
But before I made any final decisions, I decided to go to a professional photograph site where it listed the top twenty DSLR cameras (voted so by readers/photographers). The Nikon D40 was fifth. But then I caught wind of the Nikon D40x, which was a lot more appealing to me. It was a re-make of the Nikon D40, and improved on it a lot (in my opinion).
So has anybody bought either camera? If so, which one is better?

*Yawns* And Fantasy Names

My sleepover Saturday night-Sunday with Hannah, Jenna, and Jordyn was amazing. It was tons of fun. So much fun that I can't even try to relate it. ;)

And yeah, I'm dead tired. Even though the sleepover was a few days ago. ^^

According to This Site, my hobbit name is Ysungwen Ness of Fair Downs; my elvin name is Caleviel Serindë; my dwarf name is Sidda of Moria; my human Tolkien name is Sevallan Neithan; and my wizard name is Curumo Stormcrow. Those names are...okay, they just make me thankful of my name. Who wants to have your friend come up and say, "Hey Ysungwen Ness of Fair Downs"?!

Yes, this is a random question, but does anyone else like running? For me, running is a lot of fun. I like it so much I'm thinking about doing cross country next summer/fall, along with soccer and golf. Last night I ran for forty five minutes at my town's Community Center. I was listening to Handel's Messiah on my iPod; my favorite song is definitely Unto Us A Child Is Born--I think that's the title. ;)

Later,