A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings

I haven't done one of those "right now I'm currently doing..." posts in ages and ages, so I thought now, as summer's ending, would be a good time to do one.  An update of sorts, you know.  I don't tend to blog a great deal about my personal life on here, but now and then it's fun to write a little about what's going on outside of the blogging world.  (Because, you know, I do have a life outside of movie reviews and Pinterest.  Hard to believe, but it's true. :P)

So, of late, I've been...

~Reading

...the classic Christy (so good! though I don't recommend it for younger readers, as there is some adult content), the thrilling The Count of Monte Cristo (with my dad-- we read a few chapters each week and discuss them), and the fascinating Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen (a look into the life of a very misunderstood historical figure).

~Listening

...to Laura Osnes and Bernadette Peters and Mark Vincent and the Newsies album.  Film soundtrack and OBC recording, both.  And don't ask me to pick a favorite, because I like both for different reasons and I don't know if I could decide.  

~Sewing

...a Civil War ensemble that a friend recently commissioned (currently having lots of fun with petticoats :D) and working here and there on some new skirt designs.  Eventually I'd like to expand my Etsy shop to include a line of contemporary clothing with a vintage influence, so that's been dominating my needle lately.

~Watching

...just finished Martin Chuzzlewit with Melody, and I'm mourning the end of Emma Approved... a review will hopefully come soon.  (In case you didn't know, Emma Approved is a highly, highly recommended web series-- younger viewers should watch with caution as there are a few very minor content issues but all in all it's a really fabulous adaptation of Emma.)  Oh, and my family just saw Muppets Most Wanted on my youngest sister's thirteenth birthday (we have four teenagers in the house now, WHAAAAAAT) and I loved it.  Quite hilarious, and Tom Hiddleston's in it, even if only for about a minute.  :P  I'm also enjoying Green Gables Fables, which is another web series based on (just guess...) Anne of Green Gables.  Not as professional as EA, but still fun.

~Working

...at my nannying job, which I've been doing for almost two years now!  Time flies-- and my little charge is now almost three.  Good grief.   (And he's very talkative. And precious and adorable and a chatterbox.  And did I mention he talks a lot?)

~Anticipating

...FALL!  Sweaters and pumpkins and sharp autumn gusts of wind and tea in dainty cups or chunky mugs and wrapping up in an afghan with a good book.  It's my favorite season for a reason.  ;)

~Acting

...in a local production of Julius Caesar!!! This is my first real play ever, in my LIFE, and I'm really really really excited.  We have four performances in September and I'm looking forward to it immensely.  I'm playing the scintillating part of Caesar's servant-who-delivers-stuff (and I'm a guy, so that'll be interesting-- no, I mean, I'm portraying a guy in the PLAY, sheesh, I don't mean in real LIFE, I haven't been LYING to you all this time) and also a Random Plebeian who does a lot of screaming and protesting and shouting in the crowd and stabbing poor Cinna the poet.  Shakespeare is awesome.  :D

~Studying

...personality types and how people relate to each other. It's fascinating stuff, whether you're looking at the Four Temperaments (good post on those here) or the Myers-Briggs 16-type classification.  I'm an ISFJ with a bit of INFP thrown in the mix, which matches me up with John Watson and Combeferre and Diana Barry and all those splendid supporting characters I've always loved.  (If there's anything more fun than figuring out which categories your family and friends fall into, it's figuring out where to place your favorite fictional characters.)  You can take the test here if you're interested-- do leave a comment and let me know which type you are!

~Writing

...many great and wonderful things which you know not of.  :P  If you've been following my writing blog over the last year, I offer my most sincere apologies for posting, um, once.  Or maybe it was twice.  Whatever, it was measly.  I am still working on the Rochesters, but in a vague sort of way-- they're off being beta-read by several friends and relations, and when I get them back and dust them off and ask about their trip and remind them to put their laundry in the hamper, I'll settle down to giving them what will (hopefully) be their fourth and final edit. We shall see.  In the meantime, I've been devoting a lot of mental energy to some top-secret projects-- which I mention here partly to tantalize you because I'm mean like that, and partly because several people have been asking and I wanted to satiate what curiosity I could.  Which isn't much.  Haha.

~Learning

...to trust and rely on the Lord more.  Life can be so confusing and tangled and full of sharp drop-offs and cliffs with no foreseeable end, but I serve a God who sees the future and knows the plans He has for me.  His purposes and actions and love are always perfect, so why am I wasting so much of my time worrying and fretting because His plan doesn't seem to be aligning with mine?  How will my faith ever be strengthened if I don't exercise it more?  They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, after all-- they shall mount up with wings as eagles and run without weariness.  That's what I want to be able to do.

"Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think that we have the right to limit God to something we are capable of understanding."

~also Francis Chan-- the guy has a way of putting things :D 

~Reminding

...all of YOU to submit your nominations for September's I'd Like to Share!  Please remember to limit them to one per person per month, and to leave them in the comments on the I'd Like to Share page, *not* just in a random post on my blog.  It can be difficult to round up all the links if they're scattered across comment boxes hither, thither and yon.  :D  Looking forward to seeing your nominations!