A Happy November 22nd!

To day is Thanksgiving another year has passed. When ever a major holiday rolls around I find that I always look back to see how things are different from the year before. Overall it is hard to say. I know I have grown up more. I have read more books. Does that count as something different? I am a Senior in highschool.

Anyway. Like everyone else I will share a few things I am thankful for. Someone should come up with some different kind of thing. Maybe I will do that next year at the moment I am to lazy to try and use brain power to think of anything else. :)

• I am thankful for peanut butter hot coco.(really not that hard to make just heat it on the stove with a blob of peanut butter. My friend introduced me to it when I went over to her house to watch North & South :) 
• I am thankful for books. Lots and lots of books. I will just say books instead of particular books as that would be way to long of a list. 
• I am thankful for my family and friends. My family loves me and puts up with me. My friends listen to me when I talk. 
• I am thankful for music. It is pretty much one of my addictions along with books. 
• I am thankful for kind people. They are just nice and we need more people like them in the world. 
• I am thankful for refrigerators, because without them our food would spoil and then we would have to use a lot of seasoning like the middle ages. 
• I am thankful for the internet. It gives me access to information that would otherwise be inaccessible for me, and allows me to connect with other people that I would otherwise never know existed. 
• I am thankful for being alive. It is really great to be alive and living if you thank about it. 

What are you thankful for?
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, or if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving (I know I have followers who are not from the US) I hope you have a wonderful November 22nd! :)
Blessings
~Elizabeth

To day is also the saints day for Saint Cecilia. She is a saint in the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and the Orthodox Church. :) Here is her icon.

Only Stargate fans :)

This was one of the best moments from Stargate. Granted Indian Jones was not in it and the girl wasn't either. I have no idea who she is, but I thought this was so funny! :)

Book Review: Mockingjay

Title: Mocking Jay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Sic-Fi
my rating: 5/5
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire

Tissues will be important. This is the most tough book from the whole series. You would want to read it all at once, but I would recommend going slow. It is a lot to take in. I had to read it twice to fully process it.

This is also one of the most interesting books in the series as it really goes to show the manipulation, and the depths that some people will go to. There was o much going on. It was the most interesting I think because I had read so much Tudor history. All of the power play reminded me of that. I think also seeing so many images of how things effect us and change who we are. A warning to society. This whole series has had a very strong effect on my perception of the world around me.

Besides how painful this book can be, and hard to process. It is really important to the series though. If all the painful things had not happened I don't think this book would have been real, it would have been fake and the story would no longer have a point.

Blessings
~Elizabeth

Fall Fashion part 2

I am in the mood for posting some cute cloths. I really enjoy Fall fashion, and fall in almost over or is over depend on when I post this. :) But better late than never. 

I like her boots  and the baggy sweater. I am very fond of the color brown. The layers are great too with all the earthy colors. 

I do not have enough words to say how much this out fit is so me. The dress the sweater...It is just perfect. Even the hair color. 

 This is kind of focusing on boots in this post. Boots look great with almost anything. 

This is definatly focusing on the boots. I also like the skirt. It not to dress, and has an almost country look. 

The jeans and the jacket.

Blessings
~Elizabeth

A must enter Giveaway!

Go check out this giveaway at Austenitis!! She is giving away the above book by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I have read her book Hearless and did a review of it here. It is definitely one of my favorites, and I recommend it to everyone.

I was so excited to find out that she had written other books. Now to go on a book hunt!

Let your indulgence set me free

Epilogue from Tempest By Shakespeare

Spoken by Prospero

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,

And what strength I have's mine own, 

Which is most faint. Now 'tis true

I must be here confined by you, 

Or sent to Naples. Let me not, 

Since I have my dukedom got

And pardon the deceiver, dwell

In this bare island by your spell;

But release me from my bands

With the help of your good hands. 

Gentle breath of yours my sails

Must fill, or else my project fails, 

Which was to please. Now I want

Spirits to enforce, are to enchant;

And my ending is despair 

Unless I be relieved by prayer, 

Which pierces so that is assaults

Mercy itself and frees all faults. 

As your from crimes would pardoned be, 

Let your indulgence set me free

I have been studying the Tempest in school lately and it has become one of my favorites. I wanted to share my favorite passage with you all. 

Blessings

~Elizabeth  

Day 30 — How many icons you own?

I own one icon. My family owns several, but I have one that was a gift to me.

I am sad that this is the last day for the challenge. I have really really enjoyed doing this.
I hope you have enjoyed it!

Day 29 — Share any funny Orthodox moments you noticed at Church

Are these moments that are humorous? I have a few of those. I the one that comes to mind though is when I watched a little boy take off his shoes and socks, and then put his socks on his hands. His socked hands the proceeded to have a conversation. It was extremely cute. :)

The first time we came to church was the Sunday of the Elevation of the Cross. We had never been to an Orthodox service before, we had no idea what we were walking into. So at the part of the service when every one prostrates. My family had no clue what was going on, we were very confused and had no idea what to do. It is quite humorous to look back on.

Day 28 — Your favorite Orthodox radio station/internet radio station

As I live in America there are no stations on the radio that play orthodox music sadly. :(

However with this age of the internet we do have access to radios on the internet. My favorite is Ancient Faith Radio. I enjoy many of the podcasts, and my whole family loves the music. :)

Day 27 — Your favorite Martyrs

St. Stephanie 

And also the Russian Royal family.

Day 26 — Your stance on Ecumenism

I didn't even know what this was until it came up on the this challenge. I had to research it to see if I had a stance on it. Having done that, I dream of having one Church in the world and to have unity, but not at the  compromise the Orthodox faith. I would like to see the whole word in the Orthodox Church but I don't think that will happen in my life time

Day 25 — Your favorite tumblr Orthodox bloggers

My favorite Orthodox Tumblr Bloggers are..
Simply Orthodox
Orthopraxis

And since this post is for blogger I will post my favorite Blogger Orthodox blogger.
The Morning Offering

Day 24 — Describe your relationship with the Most Holy Theotokos

I am not sure how to describe my relationship with her. I feel it is more like a distant admirer. I have asked her to pray for me, and I admire her faith and life. I don't think it is very close to me and that is something I need to work on.

How Cool!

My blog has been nominated for Best Teen Blog award! I am so excited! I don't know who nominated me but who ever you are thank you!!!

You can vote for my blog by clicking on the link.
Blessings
~Elizabeth

Day 23 — Describe your relationship with God?

I feel like this is something I can't describe with words. I can say that I am dependent on God for peace, wisdom, charity, kindness, and love. I can't be who I am without him. I need God in my life. Take God out of my life would be like taking away the air that I breath. To lose it would mean my death (in a way).

A new Tag

(Very lat in posting) I was tagged by Jane from Novel Pretender! Thank you! :) 

The Rules:

1. You must post eleven facts about yourself.

2. You must also answer the eleven questions the awarder has given you and make up eleven questions for your awardees to answer in turn.

3. Tag eleven fellow bloggers

4. Notify them that you've awarded them

5. No tagging back

6. And the eleven blogs you tag must have less than 200 followers.

However I am not going to follow these rules exactly. I have done so many random facts about myself in different post that I have completely run out of random things about me. 

I will post one.

Random fact:

I am watching North and South tonight with a friend. Very happy! :) 

1. What is your favorite character trait in a main character?  

I think seeing them change and grow. If you can call that a trait. Being caring is also important. 

2. Who is a character you don't like even though most people seem to love them, and why?
Umm. Emma played by Ramola Garia. Everyone that I have meet loves her Emma. I really really don't. Her portrayal just did not feel like the Emma from the book(or what I have read of the book. I am ashamed to say that I have not finished. Emma has to be the most difficult of Jane Austen's novels!) Also, what was going on with her eyes? I thought they were going to roll back into her head! 

3. What is your ideal job? 
Teaching Piano. :) Which I do. 

4. What is your favorite book from your childhood? 
Laura Ingalls Wilder series. (I know it is a series I just could not pick one book!)

5. Is time travel a possibility? How would it work? I read somewhere that in order for us to be able to time travel we would need to be able to travel at the speed of light, Which would take a lot more energy than we can make. So that is how I think it would work. 

6. Do you like to write stories, poetry, essays, etc.? I have started numerous stories in my head, a few on paper, I enjoy writing poetry, I am hoping to set a few to music. I enjoy writing essays mostly though when I like the topic. I would say that I like writing. 

7. What is something you always thought you would do that you never ended up doing?
Start teaching piano lessons at 16, but that didn't happen when I was 16. 

8. Do you have an accent?
You know I really have no idea. People say that where I live people don't have an accent. But I have noticed that if I listen to people who have accents for a long time(like watching a BBC show for a while) I start talking like the people on the show. I am not even trying. 

9. Do you have a "bucket list" of things you would like to do before you die?
Oh yes! One of them is to eat one of those spicy peppers that they put in Asian food. Another is to write a fan letter to; Rick Riordan, Loreena Mckennitt, Meav, and I am vaguely considering putting Taylor Swift on the list. 

10. What is your favorite meal? Meal of the day, or a particular food combo? Well if it is a meal of the day than it is breakfast. I am very fond of breakfast food. For a particular food combo I would have to say that I like a lot of food and can't pick a particular one. 

11. What fictional character do you most identify with? I identify with a lot of fictional characters, probably Elinor Dashwood, and Jane Eyre mostly. 

Now Eleven questions to ask others: 
1. I have heard it said that some people  don't want to read classics because they are too long. Yet some of these same people read Harry Potter(and those are not short books). Do you think is really the length of the book, or something else? 

2. If you could pick a dead author to talk to who would it be: Jane Austen, one of the Bronte sisters, Mark Twain, or Thomas Hardy? 

3. Do you have a favorite board game? 

4. Who is your favorite actor? And what is your favorite character they have played? 

5. Do you think being a fan of Jane Austen is becoming/is a fad? 

6. We all pick out names that we like that we say we will name our children. What are some of yours? 

7. Would you call yourself a morning person?

8. Tea or Coffee? 

9. Have you come across a book where you liked the movie version better? 

10. What is your favorite place to read a book? 

11. Do you have a food that you don't like, but everyone else does? 

People I tag
 Think Green at ThinkGreenLovePurple 
Victoria at Raindrops and Moonlight
Joy at Fullness of Joy
Banrion An Gheimhridh at The Alpine Path

Anyone else who wants to participate in my tag is more than welcome! Just leave me a comment with a link so I can read your answers to my questions. :)
Blessings 
~Elizabeth 

PS. I am going to be doing a post on the subject of the first question. I wanted to see your answers and what you though. I might even ask to quote in you my post. :) 

Day 22 — What does Orthodox Christianity mean to you?

It means true to me. It means life. It means love. It means family. It means being able to take care of others. It means practically my whole life to me. There are so many things that Orthodox Christianity means to me I don't even think all of them have words that I can express them with.

Day 21 — The Last Orthodox book/study you read

The last Orthodox book that I read was was The Orthodox Way by Bishop Kallistos Ware. A very good book. I would recommend it to orthodox and nonOrthodox that are interested in the Orthodox church.