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So, I got one.

I actually had two a long time ago but something happened with my old email address and stuff so I can't access them anymore :(

That is why I made a new one. I won't be on it that often and I won't abandon Blogger for it. I'll just post pictures and quotes and things that I find inspiring.

Follow me?

Blog Party!

So there's a little blog party over at The Cupcake Dictionary and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. 


What would your dream Summer vacation be? New York City!!!
After a rainstorm, what do you think when you see the sun peeking out from the clouds? Is it over already :(  
If you were stranded on a desert island with the sun streaming down on you and had ONE palm tree for shade, you can only have three things with you; what would they be? A treehouse, a Boarder Collie, and unlimited room (island?) service.
Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, or neopolitan?Strawberry. 
If you saw your celebrity crush walking down the beach with a surfboard, what would you do? Aaron Tveit, Cory Monteith, or William Mosley? Either way I'd probably freak out, ask for a picture, then pretend to leave and watch them non-creepily from a distance for the rest of the day. 
If you went back in time for a day, what era would you go back to, and why? The 1950s because I like the fashion and the drive-ins and the diners and Elvis. 
What is your favorite thing about waking up on a Summer morning? Not having to wake up for a long time. 
Your soundtrack or theme song(s) for the Summer: Upside Down by Jack Johnson, Run Away With Me (Aaron Tveit's version), Wordplay by Jason Mraz, I Want You Back (Colbie Caillat's version), Summer Again by me. 
Say you went to California to visit family. What's the first thing you would buy? A sundress or a pair of clam diggers (inside joke). 
Manicure, pedicure or facial? Manicure. 
What's your favorite color combination? Green and pink (because of Wicked). 
If you were at the beach and wanted to write a message in the sand, what would you write? Charity + Jesus = BFFs 
You're stuck in Paris with $10,000. What do you do? Buy a dress and a baguette and a bicycle. 
What's your most favorite type of Summer weather? Rainy and sunny at the same time (I live in Colorado, it's bipolar here). 
Blowing bubbles while taking a bubble bath? Sounds like something I should try . . . 
Cupcakes or dictionaries? I'm a book nerd and a writer so I have to go with dictionaries.

Just in Case You Were Wondering . . .

The song behind the blog title :) It's from the Broadway musical "Catch Me If You Can" starring Aaron Tveit. It's all about ex-con Frank Abagnale Jr. I always have it stuck in my head. This song is the opening number and I thought it sounded like a good blog title.

In Which Charity Celebrates The Miracle That Is Summer

Summer begins on Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon. It can't get here fast enough! I can already tell, this is going to be the greatest Summer of my life. Allow me to explain why.

It starts with the fact that it's Summer. Even the very word is glorious. And is it just me or does everything taste and smell and look and feel and sound better during the Summertime?

The weather is also a plus. I can wear shorts and flip flops without freezing to death!

And the lemonade. I hit a point every year, during the peak of my Spring Fever, when I just crave lemonade. And sure I can have it whenever, it just doesn't taste as good if you don't have the freedom to go along with it.

Speaking of freedom. Independence Day has always been my favorite holiday. It's in the Summer, it's freeing, and it's so much fun. My family typically barbecues something and then goes out to find the best fireworks someplace. After we put Ma to bed, Mom, Dad, Faith and I will all gather in the basement and watch The Patriot (excellent movie, by the way. You should watch it sometime).

Sigh. I was born in California so I flipping *adore* the beach. I went last Summer, but I still feel like I haven't been in a long time. I'll try to go again this Summer. *Crosses fingers and toes*

And! This Summer I get to fly to the other side of the world and play with the adorable Cambodian kids. We leave in 15 days and there have been some issues with imprisonment and corrupt government and danger and such. I'll fill you in soon. But I am still so excited!

For some insane reason, I really want to go sailing this summer. I don't know why, I'm just itching to try something new and adventurous.

Plus, with Summer comes that feeling of absolute freedom. I'll turn sixteen, I'll sell all my clothes and buy new ones, I'll prep myself for the strenuous junior year that everyone's warned me about. I. Am. So. Psyched.

This will be the best Summer ever.

Mel and Kitty

Mel and Kitty by WriterChick2013 featuring star earrings

A Few More . . .

I just had to post a few more entertaining pictures I found.

Hilarious:

Heh heh:

Teehee:

Awe:

A Collection of Pictures to Show What a Walking Contradiction I Am

Well not exactly like that but sort of.

This makes me laugh:

This is adorable:

This makes me all fangirly:

This makes me happy:

This is perfect:

And this is because I love him:

Thanks y'all! I promise to write a more profound post soon!

Beautiful People: Discovering Emma (and Travis) Part Trois!

1) What type of laugh does he/she have? Emma: Chipper and sweet. Travis: Loud and joyful.
2) Who is his/her best friend? Emma: Mandy - rich and very confident. Travis: Alex - witty and smart.

3) What is his/her family like? Emma: Divorced parents and older sister. Travis: Rich parents, no siblings.

4) Is he/she a Christian, or will he/she eventually find Jesus? Emma: Yes, but she often doubts God. Travis: Yes, and he helps Emma with her own faith.

5) Does he/she believe in fairies? Emma: Used to, but grew out of it when she hit fourth grade. Travis: Believes in them only for Heidi.

6) Does he/she like hedgehogs? Both: Yes

7) Favorite kind of weather? Emma: Breezy and cool. Travis: Warm and sunny with a light breeze.

8) Does he/she have a good sense of humor? If so what kind? (Slapstick, wit, sarcasm, etc.?) Emma: Mostly sarcastic. Travis: Very dry.

9) How did he/she do in school, or any kind of education they might have had? Emma: Good grades but she wishes she could have taken more dance classes. Travis: Great education in a private school and studied at his parents' dance school.

10) Any strange hobbies? Emma: Running away from negative emotions and going to the bench (if that can be considered strange). Travis: Making sandwiches at midnight.

New Makeover?

So. I did it. I decided it was time for a change so I changed it. Whataya think? I know it's extremely drastic. I even changed the name of my blog, but I'm just at one of those stages during which I'm reinventing everything about myself . . . and my blog had to be changed too?

I'm bracing myself for the harsh criticism.

Proceed.

The Never Ending Road To Nowhere

I'm in a "let's go" mood right now. I really really wish I had my (soon to be owned) license and my (soon to be owned) cherry red Jeep Wrangler and I could just drive away and have an adventure. My life isn't helping much with this pressing desire to just go. My family, friends, schoolwork, chores, and all the other stuff I have to deal with here are, subtly and without even knowing it, telling me to leave and drive until the road ends.

I attempted running away from home once as a young foolish six-year-old. I won't go into all the crazy details of how my sister and I planned for hours on how we were going to execute the perfect escape. Long story short: my sister chickened out at the last minute and we didn't go through with it. But now, roughly ten years later, I kind of regret it.

I've waited my whole life for an adventure to come to me. But every time my opportunity comes to make an adventure for myself, I don't go through with it. And I don't know why. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, I always run into some sort of adventure. Whether it be sitting shotgun in a crappy Volvo, driving to Village Inn at 11 o'clock at night or sneaking away during packing period to climb a mountain and watch the world spin beneath us.

And so I decided: when I graduate and I possess both my license and my cherry red Jeep Wrangler I'm going to run away. I'll bring only my wallet and my Bible and nothing else. I'll leave a note for my parents but I won't answer my phone or check my Facebook the whole time. I don't know where I'll go or when I'll get there. But I just need the chance to be free and grab hold of my own destiny and chart my own course.

I admit, it's a little nuts. But haven't you ever wanted to get in the car and just go? No college, no career, no screaming kids, no mortgage. Just go. And write about it when you do. I want to hear about your own adventures since I can't go on my own right now.

I close by giving you a few songs to listen to on your journey:

• Run Away With Me
• Freedom
• The Girl Who Drove Away

Now go.

Rescue and Redemption

The novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is one of the most stunning works of literature known to man. Hugo traces the journey of an ex-convict, Jean Valjean, and his life's journey. Many themes are traced throughout the story, however, the theme of "rescue and redemption" is one of the most prominent and credited for shaping the protagonist's character.

Valjean is sent to prison after stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister and her starving family. His original sentence seems bearable, but after many failed escape attempts, he spends nineteen years behind bars. Finally, when his sentence is up, he is let out under certain conditions and under the watchful eye of the police detective, Javert. Valjean stumbles across the loving and Christ-like Bishop Myriel who takes him in and feeds him.

This is where the theme begins to take place. Valjean, a criminal at heart, attempts to steal the bishop's silver plates. The bishop, upon catching Valjean in the act, responds in a curious way. Rather than calling the police and sending Valjean back to prison, he stops the criminal and tells him to take the silver candlesticks as well. Valjean has never been shown this kind of loving kindness before and Bishop Myriel's one act begins a chain reaction of events that causes Valjean to change.

The convict turns his life around. He saves several characters' lives, takes a young girl under his wing, and confesses to being the real Jean Valjean when another man is accused of his crimes. The man, Champmathieu, is caught bringing a branch of apples home to his family and is accused of stealing them. Javert, after putting several clues together, declares Champmathieu to be Jean Valjean in disguise. He believes that Champmathieu changed his name to avoid going back to prison.

Valjean is told of this mistake and must make a decision. He debates with himself whether to give himself up and do the right thing or simply let Champmathieu take the fall for crimes he never committed. Finally though, he decides to do the right thing. He arrives at the courtroom during the trial and confesses to being Jean Valjean and having violated his parole (he had stolen a coin from a young boy, which sentenced him to return to prison). He explains that Champmathieu is an honest man and that he is innocent. Valjean then leaves the courtroom and waits outside, accepting of his fate.

He has returned the favor that the bishop showed to him. He had been rescued and redeemed in the past and now he passes that on to another. We do not here what happens to Champmathieu after the incident in the court but it is safe to assume that the actions of Valjean have made a very positive influence on his life. Perhaps he even turned around and showed rescue and redemption to another.

Because the bishop rescues Valjean from his past and redeems him for his future, the thief begins to change. He turns his life completely around and even managed to discover God in the process. Though it took many years and many trials, he is a very different person at the end of the book than he is at the beginning. And though no one held much hope for Valjean, he is finally changed for the better.

That's Freedom

Freedom by WriterChick2013 featuring floral tops

Enjolras

So . . . to get myself in the mood for Miss Pickwickian's Les Miserables blogging thingy I've decided to do a post on my favorite character in the book.

Enjolras.

I know, I know. He's not exactly one of the pivotal characters in the story but I love him. He is only in the book for a small amount of time and he isn't very important but he is also flipping amazing and I will tell you why.

First of all he's extremely attractive. Hugo doesn't give a very detailed description of him but he does mention that, "Enjolras, who was standing on the crest of the barricade, gun in hand, raised his beautiful, austere face." Hugo also refers to him as "handsome Enjolras" a few times. I think that's proof enough. I pictured him to look something like this:

 But you probably could've guessed that, right?

The other reason I love Enjolras is because of the beautifully inspirational speech he gives to his soldiers at the barricade before they go to war with the French army . . . knowing they will all die. It goes on for pages so I'll just throw in a few of my favorite part.

"Brothers, he who dies here dies in the radiance of the future, and we are entering a grave illuminated by the dawn."

This line made me fall in love with him. Please go read it for yourself if you already haven't. It is found in volume 5, book 1: The War Between Four Walls, chapter 5: The Horizon Which One Beholds From the Summit of the Barricade. I love it, and I hope you will too.

So that's Enjolras. There are many, many more reasons to love him, I just won't write them all down because I'd run out of daylight. Thanks for reading, Friends!

I'll Let You Be The Judge

So after much consideration I've chosen a few different name possibilities for my blog but I can't seem to pick one. And I figured that since you are the ones reading it, you'd be much help. Below are my current options.

• Live in Living Color (My personal favorite. It's a song from "Catch Me If You Can")
• SuperGirl in Training (I've used this one before)
• Experiencing Life {With Love by my Side} (Melissa's idea)
• Weeds on Broadway (Thank you Miss Pickwickian)
• Sunshine and Daydreams (Another favorite)
• All That Jazz (Broadway related)

So which one's your favorite? Or do you have any other ideas? Comment and let me know!