BERLIN.

So, I'm pretty excited about going to Berlin.  We are leaving early tomorrow morning, and will be there all day Saturday and Sunday as well, and then we'll leave Monday morning to come back to Holland.  So I won't be on here for a couple of days, but you can expect some awesome blogage and pictures once I return.

Actually, come to think of it, you might not hear from me for a while, since Malachi and I are going to the Harry Potter movie marathon at the Pathé in Eindhoven, and that starts at 0030 on Tuesday morning, and goes until very early on Wednesday morning, and then I think we leave Thursday for Switzerland/more Germany.  So I will be very busy the next few weeks.  I know you will miss my Hottie of the Post, so I'll make today's a really good one.  The winner today is...Christian Bale!

I know he's married, and has a kid, but he is SO nice to look at!  I used to obsess over this guy after Batman Begins came out, and then I started watching some of his other stuff and realized that he makes very good movies and is a very good actor.  I watched (most of) The New World yesterday, but had to turn it off.  I mean, I don't usually mind slow dramas, but this one was sooooooooo slooooooooooooow.  And I only really watched it for him, and he didn't come until almost halfway through the movie (which is 2:15:30 long, let me tell you), so I watched some of it with him in it, then turned it off because I just didn't care anymore.  Then I watched a movie with Fassy in it.

Oh people, he will always be my favorite hottie.  The red hair, green eyes.  The sexy scruff.  I can't get enough.

Anyway, I need to go and clean something or other before we leave for tomorrow.  I hope you can all survive without me ;-)  I'll miss you all as well.  Ta ta!

OH MY GOSH!!!

GUESS WHAT?!

:D

Sorry, I just tricked you all into thinking I have super exciting news.  I don't.  Unless you count the fact that we're going to Berlin this weekend.  Not that I'm not looking forward to that, because I am.

But Mom and Kathy got home from Poland and Germany yesterday.  Mom brought back some great pottery, and even got me an adorable giant mug with its own spoon that I shall be making lots and lots of hot chocolate in.

Isn't it cute?!?!

yeah.  I'm almost done with all of my lessons with assignments attached to them for my class.  Then all I'll have to do is go back and read other stuff, but I can do that on the road.  I am pretty content with life right now :)

So as usual, it is now time for Hottie of the Post!  Today's winner is Henry Cavill.

You may recognize him as Albert from the 2001 production of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Remember this cutie pie?

The last ten years have been veeeeeery good to our Mr. Cavill here.  He was actually Stephenie Meyer's original choice to play Edward in the Twilight movies, but by the time production started, he was too old.  I think he may have dodged a bullet there.  BUT, he will be playing Clark Kent/Superman in Superman: Man of Steel, and you can see him as Theseus in Immortals, which comes out on 11.11.11.  Ironically, Kellan Lutz will also be in this flick as Poseidon, and he plays Emmet Cullen in the Twilight franchise.  But I'll be paying for attention to Henry, I think.

Yeah...

The Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave

So this is the second year in a row I've been in a foreign country for Independence Day.  Last year, at least, we had a barbecue and celebrated with other American friends here in Holland, but that's not going to happen today.  I've always been very patriotic, probably more so than a lot of others because of growing up as a military brat, but I do love America.  It's a great country to be from in this world.  My favorite verse from the Star-Spangled Banner is this one:


Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!


I think it's beautiful.  I first learned it in high school, and others I've known have also expressed their love for this verse.  I remember I heard it play one day, and thought about how beautiful our national anthem really is.  I've sung it many times, whether in ROTC or getting payed to for little league games in California, but often never pay attention to what I'm saying.  When I stop and actually think about the words, it's really beautiful and very spiritual.  I so grateful for the men and women who fight for my freedom.  I know God wanted this country to be found, and without His help we would have lost the war and would all be British right now.  I wish all Americans would remember "In God is our trust."  The Founding Fathers weren't idiots, they knew what they were doing when they founded this country.  I wish we would listen to them.


Anyway, I'm done with preaching.  Time for a new edition of "Hottie of the Post!"  Today's winner is...Chris Evans!

After a bit of searching, I thought our very own Captain America would be a nice, patriotic choice for today ;-)  Pretty gorgeous, right?  Anyway, I've got a lot of homework and laundry to do, so I must bid you farewell.  Happy 4th of July!

Say what?

So I noticed that you can't see the picture of Patrick J. Adams that I put up earlier, so I'll post another one of him:

This is basically the same picture I posted earlier, just a different size.

However, since it is technically a new day, I've decided to treat you to July 3rd's "Hottie of the Post," who is Max Irons.

*Sigh*

I saw him in the movie "Red Riding Hood."  Not a really great movie, but he was very easy on the eyes, and basically made it worth it ;-)  Anywho, it's almost 0100, and it's fast Sunday, so I should probably get to bed since I need to be up in a few hours.  However, Monica gave me a memory foam pad for my bed, and I tested it out earlier tonight, and let me tell you...it's nice.  I will be sleeping well tonight.  And dreaming of Max Irons.  Goodnight!

I have not witty title for this post.

So I never ended up going to Schinnen with my mom like I said I was going to.  I decided to stay home and clean my room a bit and move all of Monica's stuff into her room.  Kathy and Monica are both officially here, and I am currently trying (and failing) to work on one of my speedback assignments for my online class.  I figure I'll get the lessons done with actual assignments first, and then worry about the ones I just have to read stuff for later.

Anyway, back to Kathy and Monica being here.  It's pretty awesome.  I always love having company in the house, because things get a bit more lively, which I like.  Monica won't be here for very long, but it's always nice to see her; but Kathy will be here for a month, so YAY!  For the first time in my life, my house is estrogen dominated, because there are officially more females than males in the house.  I guess if you count living in a dorm for college, that's not true, but I'm talking about being home.  This is seriously the first time it's ever happened.  I have no problem just hanging out with the guys, so I guess we'll see how this goes.

Anyway, I'm just trying to be good and write on here like I'm supposed to.  I like to just come and look at my blog, because it's pretty now :)  And I think I'm going to have a "Hottie of the Post" now, where I just post a picture of a really hot guy for you all to oggle at.  Today's pick: Patrick J. Adams.

I guess this is more like "Cutie of the Post," but still.  He's cute.  And Canadian.  And he's super charming in the show "Suits" on USA Network.  So yeah, that's all for now.  Back to homework for me!

Blah...

So you know how I said I was writing a book?

Yeah...

I got about a chapter and a half of it out.

And then I realized later that it was stupid.

I think I just lost my inspiration.  And started doubting myself.

But no biggie.  I have other things to worry about, like finishing my online class.  And Kathy coming on Friday morning.  And losing weight (because let me tell you, I'm turning into a fatty.  If any of you know any good diet plans, let me know).

Oh, and Michael Fassbender.

So beautiful...

Seriously.  This man makes my heart skip.  And I don't care that he's 34 years old or dating Zoe Kravitz (who is 22 years old, which gives me hope).  I ADORE HIM.

Okay, Fassy fan-girl rant over.

Oh, and can I add Jamie Bell is quite attractive as well?

Oh my...

I mean, LOOK AT HIM.  He's a good actor.  AND he dances.  Oh, and did I mention he's super-mega-foxy-awesome-hot?  Case and point: THE ABOVE PICTURE.

Okay, now I'm done.  So on with real life.

MY MALE BEST FRIEND TREVOR CAME HOME FROM HIS MISSION THIS WEEK!!!!  Can you tell I'm excited about that?  I can talk to him about pretty much anything.  And for those of you thinking, "Oh, your male best friend?  I think I hear bells in the distance...," no, it isn't like that (even though a lot of people try to tell me it is, which makes me reject the idea even more, SO SHUT UP ABOUT IT).  Trevor is more or less my brother.  From another mother.  But we've been chatting on Facebook the last couple of nights, and it's just been great getting to talk to him in real time for the first time in two years :-)  We take care of each other, he and I, and it's great having my brother home. 

Actually, a LOT of the guys I knew from my freshman year are, and have been, coming home from their missions.  It's pretty awesome, needless to say.  I'm really excited about seeing everyone again this next school year.

So a mini rant now.  Trevor and I were talking tonight (it's currently 12:54 AM my time), and I mentioned how crazy this next semester was going to be, and how I was definitely graduating single.  Which I am pretty content with.  I have plans for my life, and sure, marriage is in there (somewhere), but I kind of like my independence (shocker, right?).  And Trevor made some comments like, "Well, don't reject it if it's there," or "What kind of guys do you like?  I want to introduce you to friends."

Okay.

I don't date a lot.  I've only ever had one boyfriend, kind of two (I had a sort-of relationship with a guy, but we were never official), and I let myself get absolutely crushed by both of them when it didn't work out.  ESPECIALLY with the sort-of boyfriend.  I was hung on this guy from the latter half of my junior year of high school until my freshman year of college.  And then I finally got over him (although I still think about whatever happened to him).  I realized he could never give me what I wanted and deserved.  But I have this problem, where I like guys and freak out when they like me back, or I don't like guys that like me, or I like guys that I will never get.  It seems like this is pretty standard for a lot of girls, because we're dumb and emotional and hormonal and all that.  And I always whine about boys, and about how even though I whine about them I secretly want one.  I mean, hand-holding and cuddling are the greatest things ever, and without a boy where can I get my fixes of those?

Anyway, back to the rant.

I understand us LDS girls are supposed to get married and have babies, and that we should make that a priority.  But...it's not for me.  At least, not right now.

I mean, I'm not saying I'm averse to dating or marriage.  Heck, dates can be super fun, and I hear married life is the best.  But I'm scared of being set up with guys that I end up not being interested in.  Because what if he's interested in me, but I have no intention of ever seeing him again?  This happened to me this last semester, and I feel awful in this kind of situation.

Goodness, I don't really know where I'm going with this.  More or less what I think I'm trying to say is, someday the right guy will come along.  I'm not going to just go out with someone I have no interest in, or who I don't have those specific feelings towards.  That's not fair to him.  And it's not like I haven't put myself out there, because I have, and I've gotten shut down (and it's not like all of them were "out of my league," shall we say).  If I fall in love with a guy, and he loves me back, then yes, I'll do the right thing and get married.  But I'm not going to rush it.  I'm always waiting for a guy, and I always get told, "It'll happen when you're not looking for it."  And you know what?  I'm starting to get that.

I'm a big girl.  I am in control of my own heart and feelings.  I know eight months is a long time (by Mormon standards) to find someone and get married, but I'm not going to force it with someone I don't have the right connection with. 

Anyway, I realized that I'm more content with my singleness when I'm not in Provo.  Probably because I'm surrounded by married people in Provo and they're rubbing their euphoric happiness in my face.  But right now, I have plans for my life, and they involve a single me.

And I think I'm okay with that.

Anyway, I don't know if you've read my novel or not.  But it feels good to spill all of this out.  But I should get to bed.  We leave for Schinnen in about 8.5 hours, and I still need to sleep and shower before then.  So good night!

Hmmm...yes?

So that past couple of days I've been OBSESSED with the "Jane Eyre" (from this year) soundtrack.  It is just absolutely gorgeous!  It was composed by Dario Marinelli, the same guy to did "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightly in it, which was also amazing.  This soundtrack is more dark and moody, but still has that magical sound that just takes you away like "Pride and Prejudice" did.  I seriously just keep lying around and listening to it, daydreaming.  Heck, I even listened to it for the full hour I was on the elliptical today!  It has totally captured me.

Anyway, my daydreams always consist of some story or movie that I make up in my mind.  Of course they're romances, because I'm a girl, and that's what we do.   I've been running around a few different ones the past few days, but there's one I thought up today that I really like.  So much, in fact, that I think I'm going to write a book.

Yep.  I'm writing a book!

Now don't get me wrong, this book is most definitely NOT going to be the greatest or most original thing ever written, I can promise you that.  But I've always liked making up stories, and I feel like this one could actually make sense.  It'll be along the lines of a Jane Austen book, I suppose.  It will most definitely be around the same time period of her books, or maybe around the time of the Bronte sisters' books, like "Jane Eyre" (see why this story's in my head?  It's the soundtrack, I tell you!) or "Wuthering Heights."

I don't know how the easiest way to go about this is, since I'd like to type it on my laptop, but it doesn't work anymore, and I don't really want to type it on my parents' computer, because I'm afraid they'll read it, and I don't think I want anyone reading it until I'm good and ready for them to.  I know some people will type stories in a blog, chapter by chapter, but I don't know if I'll be writing the book totally in order.  At the moment I have different sections of the book really thought out, and kind of know how I want to string things together, but I'm just not sure.  Does anyone know of a way for me to type this out without people reading it?  Because a notebook is just not an option!  I would go insane from trying to handwrite everything.  So, your suggestions are welcome!