Thursday, November 6, 2014

Liebster, Not Lobster

Peregrin, from Traveling Home, nominated me for the Liebster Award. Thanks, Peregrin; this is fun. :-)

I.  Who is your favorite literary couple and why?  What virtue did they demonstrate that sets them apart in your mind?

My knee-jerk answer is Clark and Marty Davis. They stick out to me first because theirs was the marriage I admired as a child. (Love Comes Softly was the main series I owned, so I read it about 5 times as a kid, I think.) Now that I'm older, I admire them because of their grit and determination and resilience. Their marriage had a rough start, and their family had so many ups and downs, but Clark and Marty never let it shake their relationship. 






II.  What is your favorite thing about fall?  Why?

Well......my birthday's in the fall. I guess that's okay. :-) Actually, I hated fall growing up, but now that I'm older, I get excited about putting up my pretty fall-ish decos and drinking pumpkin cappuccino and making pumpkin dump cake.



III.  Fashion-wise, would you rather wear Regency, Downton, or World War II attire?


Hmm. I'm definitely an Austenite, but Empire waists don't really do anything for my shape. And I've never been too enthused about 20s fashions. So I'd have to go with WWII. I love the whole pumps and swing dress thing. I tried it once for a party. I get really excited about wearing a hat and gloves and pearls. 



IV.  Favorite poem?



V.  If you could describe yourself as a beverage, which drink would you be?


Chai latte. Looks like iced coffee, but it isn't iced coffee. It has a totally different flavor. And every few drinks, you get a different taste. Sweet and spiced at intervals. It isn't what people expect when they first see it. 


(Wow. That was a bit more introspective than necessary.)

VI.  Favorite movie and why?  Favorite and least favorite character from that movie and why?

I never know how to determine these things. Do I pick the movie I adored as a child? That'd be The Sound of Music. Do I pick the movie I've seen the most often in life? That ties between Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Napoleon Dynamite. Or do I pick my favorite movie I've seen in the last six months? That'd be a tie between Captain America: Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Or do I agree with the highest-grossing movie of all time? Obviously, that would be The Avengers.

Shall I share characters from each of those? Yes, I think I shall.


The Sound of Music


Favorite = Julie Andrews Maria von Trapp. She's funny, flexible, brave, smart, devout, fun, and realistic. AND she can sing like an angel.


Least favorite = definitely Rolf. Brat. Getting all friendly with Liesl, and then dropping her like a hot Tater Tot.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)


Favorite = from this particular movie, Charlotte Lucas. She's brave, clear-sighted, honest, and such a great friend.


Least favorite = Lydia. Ugh. She's such a stupid idiot in this. Completely man-crazed, totally oblivious, and unbelievably ill-mannered.

Napoleon Dynamite


Favorite = Kip. He has some of the best lines.


Least favorite = Uncle Rico. He's just...so stuck on himself. I don't know, though; it's hard to hate anyone from this movie. :)

Captain America: Winter Soldier


Favorite = Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. She is so brave and bad a** in this, and yet there's some scenes where she looks so broken and vulnerable inside. It's like she was forced to grow up super fast, and defend herself and anybody she was paid to protect, but there's this little insecure girl inside who's terrified of letting anyone get close to her.


Least favorite = most definitely Alexander Pierce. Ooh, he literally raises my blood pressure. So utterly dirty and doublecrossing, and smug, and heartless, and lying through his bloody teeth.

X-Men: Days of Future Past


Favorite = I've only seen this once, but it just blew me away. Kitty Pryde really stood out to me. She's really brave, and seems kind of sad. And look how strong she is when Wolverine starts sleep-slashing things?!


Least favorite = Raven/Mystique. Grrr. She's so stupid and selfish. Leaving your childhood best friend just because another guy offered you shiny things, i.e., taking over the world.

The Avengers


Favorite = Heheh. It's probably obvious, but I'll say it anyways. Thor. He's so noble, and kind, and gentlemanly, and caring, and wonderful, and humble, and quiet, and strong...lemme go get my thesaurus....

Least favorite = I guess Loki. There aren't many people to hate in this one. He's such a power-hungry, attention-starved brat, and even if he was forced into "taking over the world", he put himself there in the first place. All he cares about is looking good.

VII.  Would you rather live in Middle-Earth or Narnia?


Wow. What a hard decision. Today, I'm gonna say Narnia, because there's so much magical magic there. And they have talking animals. But tomorrow I might say Middle-Earth, because they have Hobbiton. And Rohirrim. Yay, Eomer.

VIII.  Favorite psalm?


At this point in my life, Psalm 55. There are other beautiful psalms that I will love later in life, but right now, I identify with the heartbreak and the hope in this psalm. 


"He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; For there were many against me." Psalm 55:18

IX.  Favorite historical figure?

Wow, um, I've never really given this much thought. How famous of a historical figure does this have to be? I always admired Clara Barton's story. She worked very hard to get to where she was, and she was afraid of NOTHING.


But I think my spiritual hero would be Corrie ten Boom. Man, I'm gonna start crying just typing this. She...I don't even know where to start. She and her family hid Jews in the Netherlands during WWII, and went to concentration camps for their trouble. She survived, but lost a father and a sister in the camps. But she never lost her faith in God, and publicly forgave one of the Nazi guards later in life. Her story was shown in the film The Hiding Place. I bawled like a baby the first time I watched it. May I someday have her faith and determination. 



X.  Favorite flower?

Oh, I'd say, gladiolas. I've always loved their tall elegance.

XI.  Stripes or polka dots?


Polka dots. Always polka dots. My friends said I looked like Barbie. I don't know; I was aiming for 60s. :-) 





I nominate 

Heidi from Along the Brandywine
Miss Jane Bennet from Classic Ramblings
Melvina H. from Day Dawns
Kara from Flowers of a Quiet Happiness

My questions:

1. Favorite book of the Bible
2. Favorite part of Christmas
3. Milk or dark chocolate
4. Least favorite movie and why
5. Favorite actor/actress
6. Ketchup or mustard
7. Ever been outside the US
8. Dogs or cats
9. Least favorite food
10. Favorite beauty product

20 comments:

  1. Fun post :) I loved the Love Come Softly books/movies when I was younger. I haven't see them in years - I'm sure I'd love them now, too!

    I made me giggle - for your favorite characters in Avengers, my answers would have been reversed! #teamloki

    Also, that poem you shared is so lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should read them again, if you ever get the time. If you've seen the movies, the books are completely different. Not necessarily better, but very different. The Davis family is like old friends to me. :-)

      Ah, well, #teamthor, obviously. :-) But I'm curious now--why would your choices be reversed? Just wondering, because my best friend is fascinated by Loki, too.

      Delete
  2. Oh my goodness. First of all, Corrie Ten Boom is absolutely AMAZING. Oh my gosh, that book is the best... I cry every time. How could she (and Bessie, let's forget about Bessie) be SO amazing? It's totally like Saint Paul when he says, "Strength is perfected in weakness." Therefore, he's going to glory in his weakness, so the strength of God can work in him. Amazing.
    Haha. Loki, concerned about looking good. (BUT DANG DOES HE LOOK GOOD. xP xP) And by the way, YES to everything about Natasha in TWS. Like, her character developed SO well. I couldn't believe it, but I felt so much affection for her. Thanks so much for doing this, I loved reading your answers (and seeing your photo in your 40s dress and hat! Adorable. ♥♥ It definitely suits you.) Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EDIT: What the heck who is Bessie that reminds me of a cow I seriously meant Betsie. *facepalm*

      Delete
    2. See, I haven't read The Hiding Place yet, or the 6 other ten Boom books we own, but I know I NEED to get on that. And I can't forget Betsy (bessie *snort* that does sound like a cow) either. Her movie line about submitting to God's will or something is what sent me over the edge. Like, HOW can you be so humble and good to totally submit to God's will when you're in living hell?! Holocaust survivors amaze me, but Christian Holocaust survivors are what really floor me. And make me feel totally inadequate.

      I don't know....I don't think Loki looks *that* good. Mr. Hiddleston is quite fine, though..... ;-)

      Mmhmm to Nat, too. I wanted to wrap her in a big hug for pretty much the whole movie.

      And thank you. :-) *blushing*

      Delete
    3. READ THE BOOK NOW. And review it. So I can fangirl and cry. Oh my gosh. ♥

      Delete
    4. Hmm. My tablet's broken, so I can't read Phantom of the Opera, so I may actually do that. I'll let ya know. ;)

      Delete
  3. That EE Cummings quote. <3 Gets me every time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (If by 'gets me' you mean 'sends me into floor-hugging fits of bliss' then, yep, gets me, too. ;-) )

      Delete
  4. Ah...Love Comes Softly. Sooo sweet....I love it! (Btw, I used to read that series over multiple times. :)) And thanks for the tag! I'll be working on it in the near future.

    (Also, your *packages* post made me smile ;)...so glad it got there safely!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mmhmm. Marty and Clark were my idols, in a innocent, childlike way. Such good, Christian people, who worked hard, and admitted to their mistakes. Hmm...yep, maybe I need to write a post about that.

      Hey, I join giveaways just so I can get mail to open. ;)

      Delete
  5. Regarding the sleep-slashing... why didn't they tie his arms down in the first place? They know he pops his claws when startled or when having nightmares... look what he did to Rogue in the first movie! How did none of them think to restrain as soon as he laid down on that slab, or as soon as he was in the trance? Dorks. I completely blame everyone but Wolvie for poor Shadowcat getting wounded.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I watched it again this weekend, and I thought the same thing. Who missed that?

      (Is Shadowcat Kitty's hero name?)

      Delete
    2. Yeah, Shadowcat is Kitty Pryde. I first "met" her in the comics, so that's what I think of her as. (I also think of Wolverine as "Wolvie" or "Wolverine," not as Logan, even though he gets called Logan a lot more in the movies. And I call Charles "Professor X," and Cyclops "Cyke" and... yeah, the comics are strong in my head.)

      Delete
    3. Good to know. I call Beast my Beastie boy, because he's my favorite. He barely beats out Wolvie. :-)

      Delete
    4. Awwww, Beast is a sweetie! In the comics too. Do you particularly like the DOFP/FC version? If so, have you by chance seen "Jack the Giant Slayer" yet? I really like Nicholas Hoult in that too.

      Delete
    5. I do like the DOFP/FC Beast. Haven't seen the others--yet. And the boys watched Jack the )Giant Slayer, but I missed it, so I'll have to check it out. :)

      Delete
    6. At the end of DOFP he's played by Kelsey Grammer, who also plays him in X3. JTGS is gobs of fun! Quirky and great, makes me think of Armie's "Mirror Mirror."

      Delete
  6. Oh oh! I missed this one! For shame. :(

    Anyway! Thanks for the mention. I'll have to see if I can't get this post worked in sometime soon as well! :)

    I love Clark and Marty. They are so good for each other and so cute and sweet together. I love both the book version and the movie version. Never too much Clark and Marty cuteness! :)

    I must say that you gave a very apt description of a chai latte (which just happens to be my favorite drink), so now I'm quite curious what you'd be like to meet in person. Very fun and awesome, I'd wager.

    As for Narnia or Middle Earth? As I am currently in the middle of listening to The Hobbit, I can say that is a VERY tough question! But I'm thinking I might still go for Narnia. I've loved that series for so long.... Yay Aslan!

    And for the record, you look quite lovely in polka dots. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool--I'll look forward to your post. :-)

      I agree. Can't have too much of any of the Davis family, really. They're all such wonderful characters, and so real, too.

      YES! A fellow chai lover! My brothers look at me like I'm smoking crack, and I sit there with a look like I'm sipping liquid gold or something. I LOVE the stuff.

      Meeting me in person...well, schizophrenic and self-conscious about sums it up. Also, I get really excited about random things. LOL I decided to use the chai comparison because I come from a "holiness" background, and I can look like that, but I have VERY different interests than most of the girls in our circles. :-)

      I think it's unfair to have to choose between Narnia or Middle-Earth. I want to live in both places.

      *blushes* Thank you. I try. :-)

      Delete