Today, my family decided to take a trip to the zoo. However, I was feeling entirely exhausted so I decided to opt out. Instead of going to gawk at animals, I stayed home and watched Star Trek with my dad.

Am I sounding like a nerd yet?

Don't worry, it gets better. Or worse -- whichever the case may be.

After Star Trek (Deep Space Nine), I decided to paint my nails. This is a rare occurrence, partly because I don't have the time and also because I dislike the smell (and, I should mention, my family dislikes it too). A couple of days ago I picked up some nail polish during my family's once-a-year trip to Target. Up until now I'd only owned nail polish in shades of pink and purple. However, my whim on this day was to select a lovely hue of sky blue and also a nice-looking shade of lime green.

Just so you all know, this lime green nail polish is a lot uglier than I thought it would be. It's going to have to grow on me.

(Side note: My eight-year-old sister, after seeing the nail polish, decided to purchase some too. It was only after she had selected several colors that we realized she'd selected red, orange, yellow, dark blue, and purple -- the perfect way to complete a rainbow. This was fortunate considering the fact that our existing nail polish bottles dried up years ago.)

So after I had painted all the fingers one one of my hands (and also tried to type with said hand, a venture which was somewhat successful), I decided to watch something. I briefly considered Star Trek, but decided I wanted to make a foray into a completely new show. The new show I selected just happened to be Doctor Who.

Many of my friends have told me about it, but it took me a long time to actually decide to watch the show. As it so happens with me, I already knew the names of all the characters and even some very strange plot twists. (I didn't mind reading spoilers since I figured I'd never watch the show. As it so happens, I was wrong.) Anyway, I clicked play on Season 5, episode 1 -- The Eleventh Hour. It's the beginning of the most recent incarnation of the Doctor, Matt Smith, who is my personal favorite. (Yes. I did have a favorite before I even watched the show. Oops.)

From the beginning, I had a strange fascination with the show. Okay, okay, at first I thought the beginning was weird -- but you can't deny that a blue police box careening out of control is a little strange. As the show progressed, there was barely a second where I was bored. (This is a major feat, considering I tend to zone out with anything of a televised nature.) Mediocre plots and obvious plot twists do not phase me. Well, they do phase me, but not for the good. To grab my attention, you must have an absolutely brilliant show.

I'm not 100% certain about the rest of the series, but the episode I watched was an absolutely brilliant show.

I think I'd watch it just on account of the dry, British humor. From the very beginning, I was laughing out loud. I had to keep a notepad open on my computer to scribble down random quotes that tickled my fancy. And for the entire opening of the show, I was so transfixed that I had to pause it to finish painting the nails on my other hand.

As for the rest of it, I'm a bit concerned that it may be too intense or creepy. (Even The Eleventh Hour was creepy, but the brilliance outweighed the bad, I think.) So I'll have to take it one episode at a time. But for an hour's worth of diversion, I think Doctor Who was worth it -- and far surpassed any expectations I ever had.

I once saw a lady with TARDIS earrings at a movie theater. I didn't understand what was so cool about them then. Now I do. The TARDIS is amazing. The end.

Okay, so it's day 26... a childhood memory.

*stares at the screen*

People, I'm suffering from writer's block. Blogger's block. This isn't supposed to happen!

Well, one of my favorite childhood memories is going camping in the mountains with my family. Making s'mores, cooking hamburgers. One camping trip in particular, we ended up hanging out with a family that we knew but weren't very close to. We had invited other families, but they had all canceled for one reason or another, and we weren't sure why we had ended up spending time with this one family. It ended up that a few months after our camping trip, they ended up losing their six year old daughter. That was one of the hardest years of my life, especially because we had watched a family lose their 3-month-old baby due to an underdeveloped brain earlier that year. But God pulled me through it, and I am here to say that he never lets go.

I also love (or still love) watching train DVDs with my dad, watching chick-flicks with my mom, swinging in the backyard, playing Barbies with the lil' sis, going outside with my brother, & playing in the sandbox.

Ahhh... I miss those good old days. :)

This post is dedicated to just a few of the people I admire.

1. Corrie Ten Boom. She had such courage; such faith. I admire her so much. She was so ready to forgive, even in the face of all she'd gone through in the concentration camps. She is my role model, and an example of what it truly means to love and forgive.
2. C.S. Lewis. He's the writer of my favorite series, but he's so much more. He was a devoted Christian; a child of God; and a man who truly followed Jesus. He's my role model (as far as his heart for God). I want to write like him someday.
3. Owl City. I admire the way he's able to take pictures, sing, and write lyrics. The way he's able to make a song speak to me, whether it's about Jesus or Seattle. And the way he gives credit to God alone, letting Jesus' light shine through him.
4. My dad. I admire him in so many ways. His wisdom; his heart for God; the way he talks to me on my level in a way no one else can. I admire his strength, and the way he has hope in the face of difficulty. I admire the way he can talk to God about anything and everything; and the fearless trust he has in God. I admire the fact that he has sacrificed so much to raise me in the ways of God, and that I am so important to him that he would die for me. I admire the way he is courageous and ready to die for his faith, no matter what may come. And I admire his heart; the way he is brave and strong. I love you, Daddy.
5. Jesus. You're my ultimate role model, and I love you. Thank you for giving your all so I could have You. 

No matter how long you've been reading my blog, there is something you need to know.
I am an utterly devoted fan of many, many things.



I'm a True Narnian."Courage, dear heart."
This goes deeper than just a fandom, I think. It all started when my dad read the books to me. I was probably five or six, and the magic of the stories enthralled me from the very beginning. After that, there was no turning back. I love the books and the movies both equally and differently, and I am a huge admirer of Jack Lewis. He's one of the people that I CANNOT WAIT to meet in heaven, and one of my inspirations.
Aslan has always had a special place in my heart. He has shown me the meaning of true sacrifice; a vivid picture of grace; and the beauty of who Jesus really is. The Chronicles of Narnia have shown me that here, Aslan has another name, and I must learn to know him by it.
Actually, my blog title is from the Chronicles of Narnia - the Last Battle, to be exact.
"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!" - Jewel the Unicorn in the Last Battle, chapter 15
This blog is about my life, as I go further up and further in, exploring my life and the life to come.


"I'm not being funny, but..."
I'm a Hoodie.
It's the new craze sweeping the nation - Robin Hood, the new TV show by BBC. The legend of olde is now back to captivate all audiences, no matter what their age!
Do you think I make a good narrarator? ;)
Okay, so, seriously... the BBC Robin Hood show rocks. That said, it bombed due to several changes the writers decided to make that should NOT have been made. Despite this, like it or not, I am still a fan.

It all started a year and a half or two years ago when my Pip got hooked on this new TV show called Robin Hood. She told me all about it, and I thought it looked like a great show. Nevertheless,for one reason or another, it was still took a couple months before I watched the first episode on July 27th, 2009 (I remember the date because that's when Pip & Ebee came to visit). Sadly, Ebee's computer shut down three-quarters of the way through, and we didn't get to watch the end. (Talk about a cliffhanger.)

Believe it or not, it wasn't until a year later that I finally got the urge to watch the first episode again. And after that, there was no going back. I was hooded... er, hooked. I got my brother into it as well, and together we spent the summer watching Seasons 1 & 2 (my personal favorites). Season 3 is something I prefer to block out of my memory, but 6 months and two fanfics later, I am still a Hoodie.

I enjoy the show because it satisfies my inner fantasy geek in bite-sized portions, yet is much longer and more interesting than a movie. Clear as mud? I thought so.




I'm a Hobbit.
If hobbits aren't real, then what am I?

Amin mela "Lord" en' i' "Rings".
Apparently, according to an internet translator, that's Elvish for "I love Lord of the Rings." And it's true.
I've always known about the Lord of the Rings movies, but I wasn't allowed to watch them for a long time. That is, until last year or so. My dad told my brother and I that if we read the books, he'd let us watch the movies.
The race was on.
It took us a while (I mean, come on, those books are huge!). I went through periods where I'd soak in the books and couldn't get enough of them... aaand periods where I didn't want to go anywhere near them at all. I still love those manuscripts and I'm thinking about reading them again. Every time we finished a book, we'd watch the movie.
We ended up getting to Return of the King at the same time, and that's when competition ensued. I remember clearly when my brother challenged me to a duel. I accepted, and for one Saturday all we did was read. We read as much as we possibly could, and then we got to the end. Well, my dad decided to read the last chapter aloud to the both of us, and we crossed the finish line together. ;)
I'm really glad I read the books before the movies. It made it totally worth it, and I probably wouldn't have ever read the books if I didn't have the movies as motivation.
My favorite characters are probably the hobbits - especially Samwise Gamgee. He's the one whom I'm most like in personality (and maybe height too), and in fact, many people call me Sam. My Pip nicknamed me that, and it just kind of stuck. She's most like Pippin of course. ;)
I also really like Aragorn. Someday I'll write an epic character like him...someday.


I'm a Trekkie.
Okay, so blame my Dad for this one. He was the one who played Star Trek: The Next Generation for me when I was but a wee lass. It wasn't until I got to be an older, more experienced Starfleet officer that I actually began to appreciate the aliens with strange heads.
All kidding aside, I do love this show - The Next Generation in particular. However, I still do love what I've heard about and the few episodes I've seen of The Original Series.
I just love how these shows explore the human condition, and how the characters, despite being futuristic, are not that much different than ourselves.
My favorite character is Data, followed up by Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher, and Will Riker, and Deanna Troi, oh, and Worf!
Okay, okay... I love them all. :P


I'm a Dekkie.
Black.
Red.
White.
No, I'm not just naming random colors. I'm naming books. Ted Dekker books to be exact!
I read Black last year, and it was my first Dekker book I've ever read. I haven't read all his books, but I really love the way he incorporates fantasy and "adrenaline-laced plots" together to create one epic novel.
I'd probably say I like his Circle Trilogy best, and my favorite out of those would have to be Black or Red. The analogies in Red are beautifully heartbreaking. Thus, I cried.
I definitely liked the books Showdown, Sinner, & Saint, although not as much as The Circle Trilogy.
I also did get Chosen for Christmas, which I'm looking forward to reading again. Another book I really liked of his was Blink of an Eye, which probably is a close second to the Circle Trilogy.
I have both Pip AND my dad to thank for getting me hooked on Ted Dekker. ;) Now I find myself picking up on his writing style and using it in my novels sometimes.
Thanks, Ted Dekker. You are inspiring.

Finis... sorta. ;)