The Muse Party Blogfest!

A GINORMOUS amount of CONGRATULATIONS goes to the absolutely AMAZING Sarah Foster for FOUR years of blogging! I discovered Sarah during this past A-Z Challenge and was immediately taken in by her blunt, real writing voice and on point advice. She blogs over at The Faux Fountain Pen.

I am so excited to be participating in a blogfest to celebrate her anniversary!

1. Who is your muse (or character)? Tell us a little bit about him/her and why you brought them.

This is Cassandra--say "hi", Cass--and I brought her because we're basically best friends. Not even joking, we're like the same person. Sometimes when things happen, I'll literally be like "Oh I can't wait to tell Cass--oh wait." Anway, Cassandra is eighteen years old and just graduated from high school. She can't wait to leave for college in a few months and is so sick of her family and town. She's kinda quiet at first, but once she trusts you, she won't shut up. When she's hurt though, she will shut up and GOOD LUCK trying to get her to forgive you. (Sorry, Cassie, it's true.)

2. What are you guys wearing? Dressing up or keeping it casual?

Dressing up, duh! We're wearing knee-length sundresses, with jewelry. And wedges.

3. It's a potluck! Did you bring something yummy?

OF COURSE. Cassandra can't cook to save her life but I made no-bake Oreo bars. (Oh my gosh, Cass, it IS true! Remember that one time London asked you to make pizza with the kids...is the floor still red? Pretty sure you also almost exploded the oven.)

4. Open bar! What are you both drinking (booze or otherwise)?

Being the good-girl-under-21's that we are, not alcohol. Cassandra is drinking a safe Sprite, while I'm drinking some super sugary concoction. 

5. Wallflowers or social butterflies?

I'm a TOTAL social butterfly. Cassandra just likes to stare at people. (Calm down, I'm JOKING. Maybe.)

6. What song(s) will you and your muse sing for karaoke?

If I can manage to convince Cassandra to do it with me, definitely God Made Girls by Raelynn. We're both suckers for country. 

7. What's your favorite party game?

Cass is boring and doesn't like anything.(Cassandra, shut up, I made you. Do you want me to kill off Ben? Then respect me.) I'm partial to anything that involves the sharing of deepest darkest secrets. And Apples to Apples. Oh, and Guesstures. 

8. Which one of you is more likely to end up dancing on a table top?

Me. Definitely me.

9. Has your muse been a good date and would you ever hang out with them again?

She's never good, but neither am I. Guess that's exactly why I would hang out with her again. (Love ya, Cassie ;))

Congratulations again to Sarah! Looking forward to many more years of blogging to come. Also, I guest posted at Jess's blog Simple Scribbles (book review) as well as Nicole's blog Carpe Veritatem (opinion post). So you have three blogs to stop by and leave some comment love for!

Lastly, have a blessed Memorial Day. Thank you, God, for all the amazing men and women who gave their lives for this great country. God bless America!

Ten Favorite Screen Characters

First of all, I would like to express tremendous gratitude for all my amazing regular visitors/commentors. Thank you for sharing with me your advice and opinions on my posts...it really means so much to me.

Second of all, I was recently tagged by Ashley (thanks girl!) for the Ten Favorite Screen Characters Tag. This was so hard for me. Also, I realized that all my favorite characters are either a) goofy and ridiculous or b) heartbreakingly tragic. Oh well, basically me.

ANYWAY...

MY TOP TEN FAVORITE SCREEN CHARACTERS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Actually, more than ten because I could not make up my mind. I've narrowed the list down substantially, though, so lucky you.

1. Loki

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It really bothers me that so many people like him so much. Like he's mine, back off...

2. Eugene Fitzherbert/Flynn Ryder

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...but, seriously, I am fine with Eugene too. Except he's married, so that's not exactly about to work out. He's so selfless, I just love how respectfully he comes to treat Rapunzel. Definitely husband goals, how he is willing to lay down his life for her.

3. Frozone

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MAKES. ME. LAUGH. SO HARD. I have probably seen The Incredibles over thirty times (it's a Schlueter family classic) and every single time I AM ON THE FLOOR. Not even exaggerating one bit. Plus, I can basically quote all his lines.

4.Dr. Doofenshmirtz

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Oh my goodness. Favorite animated villain EVER. Doof is so tragic yet hilarious and I just can't help but want to hug him and be best friends. I feel like he would be an awesome dad.

5.Ray (SPOILER)

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WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE RAY WHY?!!? He gets my favorite Disney side-kick award. When we went to see Princess and the Frog (amazing movie), I cried harder than the little girl in front of me when he died.

6.Merlin

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We watched the BBC Merlin series last summer and I'm still suffering from Post Merlin Depression. I love how real Merlin is, how good he is, yet how he has legitimate struggles.

7. Eponine

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She is so incredibly heartbreakingly selfless.

8. Barney Fife

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Andy Griffith Show is a family favorite on my mom's side of the family, and whenever my cousins and I get together, we do AGS marathons. Everything about Barney kills me--the way he walks, talks, his expressions...priceless.

9. Captain America

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Again, another totally selfless character. His genuine pursuit of what is right is so inspiring...and attractive.

12. Mr. Thornton

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THE FEELS ARE REAL. From another BBC favorite, North & South, Thornton is a tragic, heartbreaking character. I love the depth of his character as well as the intense development and nothing-is-as-it seems attitude. Plus, his complete devotion to someone he knows (thinks) will never love him back...

13. Megamind

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is it weird that I was strangely attracted to a blue, animated, big-headed (literally) character? Yep, thought so. Oh well. #noshame

And here are the lovely bloggers I'm tagging (no pressure at all, if you don't do tags):

• Anna
• Nicole
• Jess Wolf
• Opal
• Clare

I went the "teen blogger" route when tagging...there's a lot of great stuff by young writers out there. Pop by their blogs and say hello. They're fabulous and I'm sure would appreciate the support!

Feature Friday! One Life: Guest Post by Nicole

SO excited to be featuring Nicole this Friday, who is actually my newest critique partner! Nicole is an eighteen year old writer from over at Carpe Veritatem. If you like what you read here (which of course you will, because Nikki is utterly fabulous), be sure to hop on over to her blog and give her a follow!

Why do we try to rush everything in life? 

When I was five, I couldn’t wait to be ten. When I was FINALLY ten, all I could think about was turning thirteen. On my thirteenth birthday, I proceeded to tell my mom, “Only three years until I turn sixteen and can drive!!”

Now I’m eighteen, and am freaking out. Adulthood and college are looming in front of me, and I just want time to stop for a bit so that I can figure all of this out. 

Yet, I still find myself rushing things.

“Only 111 days until I move in to college!” “Only two weeks until I’m completely done with school!” “Only five more hours until my shift is over and then I can go home and eat pizza and ice cream and binge watch The Blacklist and CSI.”

Okay, just stop. (wait a minute. Fill my cup put some liquor in it. *shameless Uptown Funk reference*)

Let’s just take a step back for a minute, shall we? 

We've all been given one life to live.

One.

That’s it. 

One life to use it whatever way we please, for good OR bad. We can tell someone we love them, or we can walk away and never talk again. We can glorify God in everything we say and do, or we can hide our faith, waiting impatiently until we can go home and get out of an awkward situation. The fact of the matter is that we’ve been given this life, this one life, for a reason, quite probably a reason more splendid than we could ever imagine; it’s incredible to think about.

So, slow down and enjoy everything about your life. When your little sister asks you to braid her hair, or when your mom takes you out for coffee.

These moments are precious, so don’t wish them away.

Every day you have 24 hours.

1,440 minutes.

86,400 seconds.

How will you spend them?