An Interesting Summer

Hello there, people!

This post is a peek into my Summer of 2018. The Summer in which I spent a lot of time NOT blogging. :P In fact, I've not only failed to write my own blog, but I've neglected reading blogs as well. So if I haven't been commenting on your blog posts lately, I apologize. I still love you all!

Not my photo- taken from Pinterest

It's just been really busy and so much has changed in my life. Like, for real. I think I've changed more in the past 8 months or so than I ever have. Except maybe when I was a toddler. Hehe. :)

Anyways. My Summer has been an interesting time. For one, because it's the first Summer that I've owned a smartphone, and (I don't know if you've noticed this, but) smartphones have a way of influencing your every day life.
So, it's just been... I don't know, different. But good.

// Summer of 2018 //

Not my photo- taken from Pinterest

// Movies //

As of August 15th (the day I am originally writing this post), I have watched 42 movies this year! That might not sound like much to some people, but it's certainly a lot for me! In 2017 I literally watched like, 10 movies.
But anyways! Here are just a few of my favorites from this Summer.

July 9th: Big (1988)

 This movie was literally so cute it had me and my sister laughing and crying. It's safe to say this is one of my favorite Tom Hanks movies. There is a bit of content, so I would read a review first. But it's literally, like, 3 things. :) We loved it. 

July 16th: The Terminal (2004)

 It's not surprising that me and my sister loved this Tom Hanks movie as well. We loved it so much we even watched it a second time the next week to show it to Mom! Thankfully, this one is even cleaner than 'Big' and definitely worth the cuss word or two.

July 19th: Big Eyes (2014)

 Oh my goodness, I just adored this movie. It was so sad and heart wrenching, and I just wanted to hug the main character and the story was so FRUSTRATING but it ended up ok which was amazing! I also loved Amy Adams in this movie. I'm pretty sure the only reason it got the PG-13 rating, was because of one really loud f-word. But other than that, I loved this one. 

July 21st: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (1966)

Even though Westerns aren't my thing, it was really enjoyable to watch this one because not only is it a timeless and iconic classic, it's also my mom's favorite movie of all time (which I don't really understand because she doesn't even like Westerns...??? Who knew..). It's also the first R-rated movie I've ever seen without a filter. Not sure if that counts for any accomplishment, but. *shrug*

Not my photo- taken from Pinterest

 // I Taught At Vacation Bible School //

...and it was such a good experience. I learned so much and made a really good friend through it! Me and my friend, Maggie, wrote the lessons from scratch to teach the kids each day (we taught the lessons as well as wrote them, me and Maggie), instead of using curriculum lessons!

Maggie and I began meeting about twice a week at her house starting late in April to figure out/write the lessons.
We knew that God was telling us to teach the kids stories that inspired them to fall in love with God, instead the idea of being saved and going to heaven. Heaven, after all, is just a side bonus. The real reward is serving God with your life.

But anyways! After weeks (months...?) of studying and preparing our props and our lessons (we had skits and props and visuals to go along with our custom lessons of course!) the VBS in July went very smoothly.
It was truly so fulfilling to be used by God in such a way!
I know I would rather come up with my own lessons for kids anytime rather than just read from a curriculum script, because then I will be able to teach from what I have already learned about God.

Photo credit: me

// I Dyed My Hair //

... for the first time ever! Unfortunately, it didn't come out according to the picture I showed the salon worker. It doesn't look bad, but definitely different than what I asked her to do. The color that she used is growing on me, however, and I'm able to dress 'the new hair' up to look pretty good.
I also got it cut as well as colored, so it's been fun having low-maintenance hair again!

Photo of me taken by me, taken from my Instagram

// I Started Drawing Again //

...and I also created a Tumblr to post my lil drawings on! It's quite a small ordeal (I have 0 followers right now XD), but I mostly created it to motivate myself to keep drawing! I've been practicing mostly eyes lately, and if you follow my Instagram, you've probably seen a few examples.
I kind of explain the reason for taking up drawing again in the synopsis of my Tumblr blog:

"My whole life, I would be off and on with drawing. Here and there I would get a burning, passionate motivation to draw, so I would. For awhile. The Summer of 2018 I decided to take drawing more seriously and enhance my skills through more consistent practice, and I figured a blog would help motivate me. I hope you enjoy what you see, feel free to comment but please be nice... I am learning. Thank you!"

Drawing by me, photo by me, taken from my Tumblr.

If you like drawings of eyes and have a Tumblr account, go follow me! :)

---

Well, that's about it. I didn't do a whole lot of note-worthy things this Summer, but to wrap things up, here are a few more small things I did that might be interesting.

-I went to an outdoor theater for the first time ever!! It was such a blissful and relaxing experience. The breeze the night we went was absolutely wonderful!

-I have been getting to know the area I live in. You might remember my family moved back in May. I was quite unfamiliar with the area surrounding our new apartment, but the past couple of months I've been discovering more things around here. There are some great restaurants as well as a movie theater almost next door to us!

-I went to our local Science Center to see an exhibit about Apollo 11 and the Moon! They had the entire Apollo 11 Command Module there on display. It was pretty neat, and I learned a lot. The moon is kind of my thing, so it was very fun. :) We also saw a very informative and cute documentary about pandas, because they have a giant IMAX theater at the Science Center.

---

Not my photo - Taken from Pinterest

As you can see, it was a good Summer. I am still working at my job at the embroidery shop, and I'm going to be serving at my local AWANA club as the Sparks Director. I am looking forward to Fall and Winter!

Thank you for reading!

-Amaris

*☾ - A Rambly Post About Astronomy & The Solar Eclipse - ☽*

 (a.k.a. a very ramble-y, nonsensical post about space... and things. Prepare yourself)

If you've been hanging around this blog for awhile, two things are possible. 1. You have great tolerance for putting up with me (congratulations for that), and 2. you might have noticed that I am sort of obsessed with astronomy.
In fact, I consider myself an amateur astronomer.
My love for the night sky (and even the day sky) has always been around, but first began to show itself among my many interests when I took an astronomy course for high school (which seems like so long ago). I also saw Dr. Jason Lisle in person, around the time that he had just published "The Stargazer's Guide to the Night Sky" (a greeeeeaaat book btw if you are clueless about celestial objects/events and you want to get started somewhere), and I was rather depressed at the time that I didn't have enough money to buy the huge book (which was something around 20 dollars; a fortune for me back then). But a couple years later, in 2014 or so, my mom bought the book for me when I was doing the astronomy course! I was pretty happy, folks.
I learned a whooolllle lot with that book.

It was around this time that I really began to take an interest in astronomy.
Not only the aesthetic of it, but the wonder of it. I mean, have you seen this video? Outer space is amazing! Do you realize if you floated up into the sky, past the planets, past interstellar space, past our solar system, you would just keep going and going and going?
There's nothing out there.
And there's everything.

(one of my favorite star clusters)

 ☾ * ☽

Anyways. I said all of that to say, that on August 21st, 2017, I saw (what has been called) the Great American Solar Eclipse.
I saw the moon pass over the sun, people.
Did you hear me?
I saw the moon.
Pass over.
The sun.
And I can't. believe. it's over. It felt so surreal the whole time. It still feels surreal. Like a really amazing dream that cannot possibly be true.
But it is true.
It happened.

NOT MY IMAGE. (not sure who to credit. : / )

I had the safety solar glasses, of course. Hopefully they were 'safe' ones, as there were apparently a lot of controversy about fakes out there. All I can say is, my eyes seem ok, but hopefully I won't go blind in a few years. (even though it would be worth it, I think)

 ☾ * ☽

I made a pinhole viewer to watch the progression on the ground. And I saw crescents everywhere. Through the holes in a colander, through my pinholes, even through the shadows of the leaves on the ground!
And then.
I looked up through my glasses, and I saw the last smidgen of sun disappear. I also saw the diamond ring before it faded out.
(photo credit to whoever took the shot)
The outdoors around me went dark, and the nighttime creatures started to make their sounds.
Then, I looked up (without my glasses this time) and I saw the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen. 

It was a big, dark circle, with a bright ring of light around it. But it wasn't a smooth ring. It had, like wisps. It was totally amazing. I don't want to break any copyright laws, but here's a photo of what it looked like. 
(and I can't credit the photo because I don't know who took the shot. #please don't sue me)
Guys, it was so surreal. I have never seen anything like it.
I saw stars! I saw sunsets all around the horizon! I saw a beautiful, bright planet (pretty sure it was Venus or Jupiter), all at 1:10  in the afternoon! 

By now in this post, I feel like I'm just saying the same things over and over again. If you didn't see the eclipse, you are probably really bored right now, and I probably sound like some nutty stargazing fanatic-who-doesn't-know-that-much-about-outer-space-and-science-but-likes-looking-at-stars-and-moons-and-suns-anyhow. (But you know what? That's what I am.) And that's ok.
All I can say is, God is amazing.

Millions of people saw what I saw. Can you believe that probably a lot of them still don't believe that God exists, or cares about them? In wonder if and how many people were affected on a religious level by this eclipse. It's interesting to think about.

☾ * ☽

As for myself, I feel more in touch with God (if that is possible. He has always been as 'in touch' with me as He's ever going to be, but you know), and His creation.
I feel more in touch with the universe.
I feel like the sun is my friend now. The moon has always been my friend (throwback to my old profile picture, anyone?), but now the sun is special to me too. I just can't observe it as well. But I can learn about it.

Photo Credit: ME

Speaking of cool and interesting things, I am lucky enough to have a great memory of the eclipse to look back on through the years, besides just pictures. A friend from St. Louis sent me a postcard with an eclipse stamp! This postage stamp is different because it is heat-sensitive. So when you put your finger over it, the moon appears! 
And look at the post mark: 21 Aug 2017, the day of the eclipse!!!!!!!!!!!! (look at me, using all of those exclamation points... #yourfangirlisshowing)
Definitely the coolest stamp I own out of all 2000 something that are in my collection. 
I'm so happy right now, people. And amazed. And inspired. And everything.

*sigh* 
I'm going to leave now. For I am sure that I'm boring you. 
Time to binge watch space videos on YouTube. 
Bye!  

☽* Amaris *☾  

p.s. Before I leave, let me just share a video. This is one of the best ones I have found. I just get excited all over again when I watch it. I love how this guy captures the cheers and excitement of the onlookers. 



That is all!

Summer 2017 // Favorites // I'm Back, Guys!

Well, that was a fun summer.
Between re-watching my favorite detective shows, teaching little kids about Jesus, going to a cabin with my best friend, and being annoyed at my neighbor's continuous fireworks during Independence Day festivities, I've had a pretty adventurous summer.
Let me apologize for any of you who feel neglected because I didn't comment on your posts, or didn't respond to YOUR comments, or not posting on my blog at all. It's been a very interesting summer for me, but I appreciate all of your patience!
From now on I think you can look forward to more (kind of / almost / semi) regular posts from me. :)
Thus I welcome you to the post in which I share what I have done or been interested in this Summer. Enjoy!

Ministry~
As I've told you guys before, this Summer I've been busy with ministry. Specifically, children's ministry. I was able to go all around my home town and teach clubs and share Jesus with children, which was very rewarding! I had some great clubs this year for sure. :) Although I'm sad that Summer's over (which means I won't be involved in them anymore), Awana will be starting in a couple of weeks at my church, and I am very excited for that!

Teach the children, 

so it will not be necessary 

to teach the adults.

~Abraham Lincoln

Detectives~
Like I said up there, I have been re-watching my favorite detective shows. Those consist of: Sherlock BBC, Monk, and Columbo. Heck, I even watched the Psych pilot episode!
I think my favorite has to be Sherlock, but I hate to say that, because I really like Monk and Columbo too. They're all good in their own ways.
Anyways, in a future post (and believe me, I have like 52 drafts of 'future posts' that are all wondering if they're ever going to get published because I am a very mean author) I would like to do kind of a comparison post of my three favorite detectives, but I don't even have a rough draft for a post like that yet. But hey, it could be fun. :) 

Spiderman~
Guys. Please tell me something.
Why do I like Spiderman at all? For some reason, out of all the super-hero-people, Spiderman is the only one I'm actually interested in, the one that I don't hate. Why is that?!
Why?
#don't mind me over here sometimes i just don't even understand my own self
Well, I don't hate ALL the super-people. I kind of like Superman too, because he was a big part of my childhood. And he's been around forever. *shrug* I don't know, guys. But anyways, I saw Spiderman Homecoming the other day, and really enjoyed it! Now I don't have to worry about seeing spoilers anymore.  :)

Car & Driving~
Yes, my friends. I have been driving. What a unique thing to do.
No really, you might remember that I bought my first car, which is pretty fun. Sadly, however, I didn't get to drive my car a lot when I first got it, because I was away doing my ministry things a lot, and there was always someone else to drive me places.
But that's all over with. I am home now. No one is picking me up, and no one is dropping me off. I am now driving my own car.
And it's. So. Fun.
Oh, the ability to go places. Like Starbucks. And the thrift store!
I realize I'm making a ridiculously big deal about a very trivial thing. Driving a car is very ordinary. But right now, it isn't ordinary to me. It's a novelty. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm quite young, and enjoying the little things in life is very important to me.
Yes, driving will be boring one day.
But right now? Pardon me while I live a little. Now goodbye. *rolls up window*

Star Wars~
I finally watched all of the Star Wars movies. Boy, oh boy. *whew!* *wipes sweat from forehead* What a ride. I did kind of a marathon thing with some friends to finish them all up, and boy. I'm getting tired all over again just thinking about that night.
I don't want to share too many opinions, because I'm trying to get a post together for like a review on all the movies. I don't know how that's going to work, but I'm trying. Overall, though, I have to say that Star Wars is still not my thing, but I did enjoy them. Well, most of them. But we'll talk about that in said Star Wars post. If I can get all my thoughts together.

Cabin in the Woods~
I already talked about this a bit in another post from awhile back, but it deserves a mention in this post as well, because even though it happened back in May, I still consider it apart of my Summer, and will always remember it as such. It was a great four-and-a-half days of getting wet in the river, collecting teeny tiny shells, reading books, using outhouses (heh, heh...), taking aesthetically pleasing Instax pictures, and collecting lots of foam letters (don't ask). It was a great time. 

Photo Credit: ME

Making~
As far as 'making' stuff, I haven't been doing a LOT of creative things lately, other than having fun with makeup, but I did make this crown. Before you ask, yes. My fingers hurt quite a bit after making this.

Photo Credit: ME

I Have Read NO BOOKS~
All Summer. Not. One. Book. Do you see Mansfield Park, and The Potato Peel book up there in that picture? I HAVE NOT READ THEM. Although I have owned them for months now. How terrible is that? Well, I did read my Driver's Guide (for the second time around). But that doesn't count. If it does, then it had the worst plot I've ever read.

I Have Not Written a Word of my Book~
And my Characters are mad at me. I can feel it. They're really, really mad. They refuse to speak to me. All summer they have been lost in nothingness, with no purpose. No life. No... nothing. Because I didn't write a word.
I am a terrible Keeper of Characters.
Forgive me, characters.
Goodbye.
*dies dramatically of shame*

I Have NO Money~
This Summer was a little different for me because I had no money. I was qutie poor. Like, no-more-than-12-bucks-in-the-bank-at-any-given-time type of poor.
See, I spent almost all I had on my car and its expenses at the beginning of June, and then the ministry work that I did was all volunteer work, which meant I didn't get paid, which meant I couldn't work at my regular job, which meant I had no money all Summer.
Which meant that I had to find other things to amuse myself in my spare time that did NOT involve money. But it was a great time of growth, I think. I learned to be a bit of a minimalist, and I got to appreciate what I already had, without spending a thing. God surely uses everything. :)

And a Few Other Things~

• Pusheen Cat. For some obscure reason, I love Pusheen Cat.
• Singing, "Hey it's ok, it's ok, you're welcome!" from Moana every time someone says "Thank you".
• Little kids. Just children in general. They have squishy faces. I love them.
• Dramatic people. I could never be like them, but it's fun to watch them.
• Benedict Cumberbatch. No more words needed.
• Looking forward to Fall. And Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays.

So.
That's about it I think. Like I said up there, I'm sorry for having almost no posts for all those weeks, but I am back now, and ready to shower you with lots and lots of interesting things...
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a half-eaten donut from this morning that I must finish eating, if I don't want it to go stale.
No one likes a stale donut.

 -Amaris

p.s. That kind of sounded like a Blimey Cow closing sentence... 
p.p.s. Also, I recently wrote a more updated About Me page. If you want to go look. :) 

I AM QUITE ALIVE

Ah, my blogging friends, forgive me for my negligence! I have had the most swimming adventure. I say 'swimming' because I actually did some swimming. In a river. With currents and everything. And my best friend had to save me. Hooray.
So I went to a remote cabin in the woods and spent four days there and swam in said river, which made my arms and legs hurt like the dickens the day after, but it was still all too fun to matter.
And I used an outhouse for the first time.
 #yay
 #so fun
 #ya'll should try it
 #just kidding don't

And I played a ridiculously fun game called SPOONS during which you had to FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE because everyone practically killed each other trying to secure a blasted spoon for themselves and WE ALMOST BROKE A CHANDELIER PLAYING THIS GAME and which I had never played before but hip hooray for me because I beat everyone except my mom.

And I hung my clothes on an actual clothesline to dry in the sun.
And I drank 18 different bottles of soda pop in all sorts of outrageous flavors such as "MacFuddy Pepper Elixer" (which I actually enjoyed--call me a liar if you want to), and "Candy Bacon Soda Pop" (You can Google these if you don't believe me) and "Caramel Soda Pop" and "Shirley Temple Soda Pop" and basically ALL THE SODA POPS.
And I don't even 'drink' soda.

Not my image...

And I took lots of beautiful photos with my Mini 8 Instax Camera to keep the memories forever... and I also took some pictures with another camera that I took with me and I wanted to show some of them to you but I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO UPLOAD THEM I'M SORRYYYYYYYYYY
*****
And SO MUCH OTHER STUFF.
WE HAD A CAMPFIRE.
AND I SAW A SLUG ON MY CHAIR.
AND I LEARNED THAT UNQUINTESSENTIALLY IS A VERY LONG WORD.

IT IS SUMMA-TIME, MY FRIENDS!
Ahem.

And when I got back from my 'weekend of weekends', I did something ELSE very exciting... Well, first I had the stomach bug (which was NOT exciting, believe me), but after that, .......
I also...........
...........
 drumroll, please...........
..
......
.....
......
.......
.....
......
.........
I bought my first car!!!!!!! HOORAY!!! :D
Ta-da!
*lots of confetti and fanfare*

Aren't I so grown up?!?!?!?!?!? (No, don't answer that. We both know I'm not).
Do you realize what has happened?!
Do you know what this means?!
I can now go places.
Did you hear me?
GO.
PLACES.

HOORAY.
#so excite
#much happy
#very drive
#w-o-o-ww

I apologize for the obnoxious way in which I am portraying my excitement to you. I know I am really quite nuts.

I suppose I must now come to the real reason for this post. That is to warn you that you won't hearing from me for a couple of weeks. (There. Aren't I so proper now in warning you this time? Instead of just leaving you to wonder weather or not I've disappeared from the face of the earth. You ought to pat me on the back.) I am going away to a sort of training camp thingy (same as last year), and it will take up 90% or more of my Summer. Which leaves very little time for blogging and all that. If I can squeeze in a small post here and there, I'll be lucky.
But don't expect that.
I am blessed that the Good Lord has seen fit to give me His business to do, and I intend on making the most of it.
So.
That was the real reason for this post. 

And now I must leave you.
I must get to packing.
Literally. Lots and lots of packing.
-Amaris
p.s. Forgive me for any grammatical errors in this post, but I haven't time to check myself. Hopefully all is well.
GOODBYE.