1-2-3-Not it! ;)

I'm it!

Or something.....

I just got tagged by Graham. ;)

So I'm supposed to post 11 random facts about myself, then answer the questions he asked me, and lastly, tag 11 people and give them new questions. :)

Random facts:

#1. I'm getting alot of reading done on my Daniel's iPod, (Love and Friendship by Austen, The Laughing Cavalier by Orczy, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, and Dombey and Son.) though I still prefer real bound books. :)

#2. You can't believe how excited I am about this right now:

#3. This weather? My absolute favoritest!!!!!! The fall is just perfect that way. :)

#4. Our county fair was last weekend and I was able to go every single day! (seeing as the grounds are literally 5 min. down the road, it's quite convenient. ;)

#5. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Septembers nearing it's close and October?! will be joining us soon! :P

#6. I'm hard at work trying to finish all my books so that I can graduate in December and be able to be in the Class of '12!!!!!!! xD

#7. Seeing as temperatures around here are dropping to the 60s in the mornings, I guess I ought to switch around my wardrobe......

#8. I want to dance very soon, and am excited about the prospects in sight. 

#9. I love that cozy, exhilarating sound of fallen leaves blowing across the pavement. :)
#10. My hair is in a sorry state right now, and I need to go put it under control.
#11. Homemade KitKat bars are the best. Just sayin. 

And now for my answers....

1. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

Read books with exciting plots, talk with friends, or some craft like Smashing. :)

2. What is your favorite black and white television show? 

That'd be Andy Griffith or Leave it to Beaver probably......

3. What is your favorite song? 

I don't have only one, but here is one of the many:

4. What is your favorite Bible verse? 

I really like:

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, angles, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus out Lord.

Romans 8:37-39

5. Where do you go to church? 

Well.....seeing as church is held in our home every week I really can't say I go to church.....;)

6. What county of what state do you live in? 

A small and pretty county in the Old Dominion State. 

7. What is/was your favorite school subject? 

Right now probably Biology. :)

8. What is one of the highlights of this year for you? 

Turning 18, and eventually graduating!

9. Cookie or cracker? 

Cookie if it's homemade, cracker if not. 

10. If you could go to any concert tomorrow, where would it be? 

You mean who? I'd really love to see Jamie Grace, Tenth Ave North, Celtic Thunder, or the big one coming up in the winter. :)

11. If you could visit any country in the world, where would it be? 

Can't pick country. ;) Continent? Probably Europe. :D

So now I guess I'm supposed to tag 11 of my peeps. Here goes nothing! ;)

Jo
Bree
RJ
Julia
The Keller Girls
Anne-girl
Matthew
Hannah Banks
Maria Elizabeth
Shi of Narnia
Hannah Grace

And give them 11 questions:
1. Country or Classical?
2. What's your fall comfort food?
3. Kindle or real live books?
4. Black or green tea?
5. Do you like where you live?
6. Are you a city or country person?
7. Trendy or old-fashioned?
8. Dancing or other art?
9. What song is stuck in your head right now?
10. Is your family more spontaneous or very planned out?
11. What artist would you love to see in concert?

Okay, there we go. :) Hope you all are having a great week, and we'll talk to you later!
~Sarah

"Comparisons are odorous." ;)

We are rummaging about in the dirt today--tilling up the garden plots, transplanting, delving out all the forgotten perennials in the raised beds...I enjoyed transplating all our teensy-weensy herb seedlings! They are no taller than apple-seeds and yet they are full of fragrance already! I can't wait to start cooking with them. We are a tad late with starting up the garden--lots of it ought to have been planted several weeks ago, but we are planting nonetheless. :) But updating you about the garden was not meant to be the point of this post...

 I've been realizing all of a sudden (haha-why did it take so long?) that Shakespeare's writings are the most quoted of all time! (Excluding the Bible, of course.) Generally when we think of Shakespeare we have a vague idea of men in funny, feathered hats, pink tights, and slashed doublets. Poison and daggers and "Woes-is-me" figures rather largely too. In most circles quoting Shakespeare is so old-school. No one does it anymore?...or do they?

That's what I'm realizing, and what most people don't ever understand. Scads of common words and terms and expressions in the English language were coined by William Shakespeare! What do I mean? Here are just a few examples:

All that glitters is not gold.

All's well that ends well.

Bated breath

Bag and baggage

Best foot forward

Breathed his last

Break the ice

Dead as a doornail

Eaten me out of house and home.

Forever and a day

The game is afoot

In my mind's eye

Kill with kindness

Knock-knock. Who's there? :D

Neither rhyme nor reason

Own flesh and blood

I could go on. And on. And on. There are hundreds of other examples I could use, but why don't you find them out for yourself? Here is a great website full of them: The Path Guy: Words and Phrases Coined by Shakespeare.
So I'm calling for a revolution--give Shakespeare a bit more recognition...and it makes you sound smart too! So next time you "Send someone packing" or see a "sorry sight" stand up a bit taller--you're quoting one of the most brilliant authors in all history. :)

She and Me and Us

Hello! We will have more exciting things to post about as the weekend comes along, but this morning, I thought I'd list 6 things about Sarah and I that are just interesting bits of trivia. Who knows what difference they'd make to anyone (probably none) but you can just get to know us a bit better.

About Rachel:
I love red hair. If I could order some kids from a catalog when I'm married, they would be a pair of red-headed twins: a boy and a girl.
I have begun about a dozen books, and only finished 3, much to Sarah's irritation. :)
I am constantly fiddling with things for no good reason.
When I am hot, I am inclined to be grumpy.
I do not like most breakfast foods, so I eat leftovers for breakfast most of the time.
I always twist my ankles for some reason.

About Sarah:
She does not like wearing fancy church dresses, because she likes to be able to play after church
She does not like popcorn. (usually)
She wants a Great Dane puppy
If she was a cartoon character, she'd be Curious George.
She can wear yellow, and carry it off pretty well! :)
She doesn't like math, but is very good at it.

About both of us together:
We are one-time recording artists. Really. That is not a joke. As 6&8 year olds, along with Daniel, we each were paid 560 dollars to sing 40 songs for the Sing, Spell, Read, and Write company with a lady at our old church. It was alot of fun, but we were so short that we had to stand on brief cases to reach the microphone. Thus our group name: The Briefcase Singers. We are seriously thinking about making an album: The Briefcase Singers Remix ;)
We are old-fashioned people and our opinions are rather the same as those you'd find in the 1800's. :) (We pride ourselves on being a sort of aficionado of that time period.)
Neither of us like the idea of working in the garden, but find it not too bad once we get started.
We both were scared to death at the idea of downhill skiing, and found it thrilling!
We're both certified electricians, plumbers, framers, and AC technicians! (Well, not really certified, but we've had a LOT of experience building this house:)