Fall, Pt 6...the key to a good Autumn

So, I realized this should really have been my first post, as it is the most important, and yes, I am serious...

"You've got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes, but never regret."

I think this is actually a great quote for the start of all seasons, because it really applies to every day life, and it's good to remember it sometimes...

Also...

Live every day like it's your last.

Not in the cheesy way, or the spend-all-your-money-and-get-really-really-drunk way either...more like "This could be my LAST DAY EVER ON THIS WORLD..."  Do you really want someones last memory of you to be you storming out in anger, or calling them a name???  Yeah, I didn't think so...

Yup. 

That's it...those words of wisdom you've been waiting for all your life.  Very deep.  

Yes, I'm very tired...how did you guess? :)  But still...it's not just a joke--really try it, if only for a day.

~Toothy

So, depending on how this post looks tomorrow (oops...this!) morning, i may just delete it... :)

Phantom!! On Broadway!!

So...whilst in NY, I want and...saw Phantom on Broadway!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Sorry.  The excitement just hit me suddenly :)  It's the longest running show in Broadway History, and for good reason!!

They have a rule about taking pictures during the show, so we don't have any, but I did nab a few off the internet...

                                                            The classic playbill...

                             The Phantom takes Christine to his lair for the first time...

           This scene was so cool...the boat was on a track, so it looked like it was really moving!!

The song Masquerade I had never heard it before, but it was so cool!!

Everything was great!! I dressed up and went with my dad...the line was crazy...it curled all the way around the block, but luckily, we didn't have to wait in it!! (the tickets the courtesy of a friend with connections, and they allowed us to just sneak in without waiting :) and then afterwards we went out to a bar in SoHo with one of my dad's best friends and his girlfriend...I got to hear stories from when my dad was in Law School, and how he met my mom, from someone else's point of view...tons of fun!

Happy Birthday Margaret!!!!!!!

It's Margaret's sweet 16 on today!!! (September 28 is today)

Happy birthday Margaret!! 
Here are some of the favorites:

Margaret, me, and Rachel in the wind at  Lorien :) 

Getting off the inner tube. We had been tubing at 50 miles an hour!
Margaret and I flew off the tube of course when the boat hit 50 miles.
(Margaret, do you remember the buddy system thing we had
if one of us started to fall off? I am laughing right now about it!)

Teaching Preschool  =D

After our first year of Pine Hills: Me, Rachel, and Margaret

One of my favorites :) (don't you dare take a picture!!!)

\

WE LOVE YOU MARGARET!!!!  HAPPY SWEET 16!!

Love,

Nina & Rachel

Beautiful Pictures!!!!

First of all, these pictures are from National Geographic...for anyone to look at....so I'm not plagiarizing. :)

(Btw, Check out Simply Beautiful Photographs from the library if you want to be utterly amazed. :)

So dramatic... =)

:-O 

Hang on--I gotcha!!!

everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast but mine is slow....

I just liked these pics, so I posted them! (by now, you might have figured out that I'm very random. :P
~Nina

Beautiful Church

My parents and I went to Sacred Heart Major Seminary for a bible conference, and my mom and I managed to sneak into the church part of the building to see it. It is a seminary church so there are a bunch of alters along the sides of it so all of the different priests who teach there can celebrate mass.

The alters on the sides :)

The tabernacle was beautiful, with an icon of the last supper above it. 

I don't know what the gray thing is at the bottom--happened when I was
downloading. :P

An overall picture:

A belated Introduction to...Rachel and Nina!

Rachel's Favorite....by Nina
Saying: "True storry!"
Movie: anything with Colin Firth or some other cute boy.
~Nina


Nina's favorite...by Rachel
Story: Twwooo Reeeeed Eeeeeeyes
Saying: "I'm 25% Irish" :P
Movie: Something I've declared I didn't like...
~Rachel

So yes, not the most organized and wonderful post in the world, but it gives you an idea... :)

Fall pt 4...Fall reads

One of my favorite parts of Fall as I've gotten older is curling with a good book with a cup of hot cocoa, so for this post, and what is better than reading a good book??  Reading a series of then so it can go on even longer!!   I thought I'd suggest some of my favorite series' for reading this Fall, and you can decide whether or not to read them.

First off...a series of retold fairy tales  for teenage girls, fabulously done by Regina Doman..

~Shadow of the Bear (Snow White and Rose Red...I love this one!)
~Black as Night (Snow White...a little slow, but interesting, too)
~Waking Rose (Rose Red...my favorite by far!!)
~Midnight dancers (The twelve Dancing Princesses...it gets pretty intense near the end so watch out!!)
~Alex O'Donnell and the Forty Cyber-thieves (Ali-Baba and the Forty thieves)

Next up, a slightly younger read, but still lots of fun, written by Shannon Hale...

~Goose Girl (based on the story The Goose Girl...surprise!)
~Enna Burning
~River Secrets (hilarious and lots of fun!)
~Forrest Born

Another light (and incredibly cheesy) set of stories by Ally Carter...these are about an all-girls spy academy, and basically a time filler for when you have nothing to do...they are a lot of fun but I must warn you they are pretty cheesy, as you might guess by their titles... :)

~I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
~Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy~Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover ~Only the Good Spy Young~Out of Sight, Out of Time

A favorite of mine is by Megan Whalen Turner, and absolutely stupendous!!  I can't really describe it, but it's totally worth reading!!

~The Thief (A little bit blah, but it introduces the characters...you can skip if it's too boring...)

~The Queen of Attolia (Sooooooo good!! I love this book!!)

~The King of Attolia (it takes a little to warm up, but when it does...!!!!!!)

Why cant I find a picture anywhere????? Oh well.  You should still read them...possibly one of my favorite series' ever...

And last but not least, written by Trenton Lee Stewart...I didn't find these too amazing, but I know a lot of people who did...maybe you will too!

~The Mysterious Benedict Society

~The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey

~The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoners Dilemma

~The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (a prequel)

I hope you get a chance to pick up at least a few of these books this Fall!

What are some of your favorite series??  I am always looking for more to add to my list!

~Rachel

Oh. and The Lord of the Rings is good too.  But you already know that :)