How do I spend my free time? Well, first you'd have to remind me what "free" is. Also "sleep". I work in THE most rewarding, challenging profession imaginable. I teach, therefore I am without fear :). No, you won't see me tackling Mout McKinley anytime in the near future, but here are just a few activities I MAY engage in: singing in the shower, playing Bach or Mendelssohn on my flute, adding to my collection of glitter, reading (for fun and profit), thinking about England, concocting a proper high tea (three to five minutes, by time NEVER by color), organizing (is that really a hobby?), fact-gathering, drawing historical timelines, wating in line at Disneyland for Pirates of the Carribean or the Indiana Jones Adventure, sneaking over to the Civic Center to run through the fountains, trying to grow (and ending up killing) a variety of plants, persuading an unsuspecting soul to play Trivial Pursuit with me, folding Origami stars, and, of course, adding to my dictionary to further my plan for word domination ;). I also follow after "little points of light": those sparkling, elusive, captivating stars. I hope to one day stand before:
"L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle"
*Charles Michael Wilkins, my beloved and my forever friend
*My family, in particular Pamela Eve Sorensen, my amazingly talented and beautiful mother
*my friends, who prove Montaigne wrong (see list elsewhere of Heroes/People worth knowing)
*stars, glitter, and anything remotely sparkly
*reading
*my starry engagement ring/wedding band
*singing soprano
*sunsets
*the ocean
*dogs, especially a certain Sheltie
*silk
*quilts
*rainy/overcast days
*school supplies
*high tea
*dessert (yes, I have a huge sweet tooth)
*DQ Brownie Batter Blizzards...mmmmmmmmm
*Victorian authors
*Preraphaelite art
*Disneyland
*England (and English History)
*chocolate chip cookies (and cookie dough)
*photography
*Washington D.C. (and U.S. History)
*stargazing
*flute music
*Broadway musicals
*cooking and baking
*random, out of context quotes
*cinnamon
*diet soda
*Axis and Allies and Trivial Pursuit
*elephants
*penguins
*llamas
*teaching
*white water rafting
*ice cream
*Hob Nobs
*white roses
*my Torrey ring
*Shakespeare
*Theodore Roosevelt
*the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland
*rap music
*agressive drivers
*lies/hypocracy
*fighting
*prejudice
*roaches
*mushrooms
*shellfish
*Calculus
*reality T.V.(other than the Apprentice, of course ;) )
*"Their Eyes Were Watching God"
*Walt Whitman
*Henry David Thoreau
*horror movies
*Arizona summers/sunshine (I burn)
*sports
*people trying to add "tte" to my name! It was good enough for Shakespeare-honestly!!!
*shallowness
***"She Walks in Beauty"***by George Gordon, Lord Byron****
1
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
Music
"If music be the food of love," then show me the buffet! My blue iPod mini follows me to Barnes and Noble when I grade papers and it constantly changes contents to reflect my mood and the activity. I sing (fortunately ..) and I've always had a secret ambition to star in a Broadway musical. That's right, I admit it! From Phantom I branched out to Les Miserables (so many happy people, so many songs :) ) and then to my current favorite, Jane Eyre. "Your Daddy's Son" still brings tears. My cousin got me hooked on his namesake, Evanescence, and they're definitely on my frequent playlist. My more "adult" choices include classical (Vivaldi, Mozart, Chopin, Bartok, Mendelssohn), I try to keep an open mind) and oratorio. I have my guilty pop pleasures too, not that I'd admit to any specifics here :). Loreena McKennit is still the background music of dreams.
Movies
My college roomie was affectionately referred to as "Blockbuster Junior" thanks to her extensive movie collection, so I've seen my share of the strange, the outstanding, and the downright creepy. I even met my husband thanks to the Lord of the Rings trilogy! Other movies I could always see again include: Gone With the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Pirates of the Carribean, Office Space (um, yeah), Pride and Prejudice (the 6 hour BBC version is STILL unequalled), The Princess Bride (My name is Inigo Montoya...Prepare to Die), Phantom of the Opera, and Sleeping Beauty.
What, do you ask, did my family do for fun when I was growing up? Have a friendly Jeopardy competition, of course. These days, the closest I come is joining my mom for an Apprentice party. I recently discovered Firefly and I'm still wondering what the network execs were THINKING when they cancelled it. I'll also watch Law and Order (the original and still superior) and I may join Charles for the Colbert Report (re-POR).
Books
***XCIX***
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take 5
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul
***by Emily Dickinson***
Dare you ask an English major to list those books which so often form the companions of her leisure hours? Despite the influence of my Dad, who used to change Nancy Drew mysteries so that thier humble housekeeper was the villainous mastermind, I DEVOUR books. One of the most dangerous life experiences ever was working on the book floor at Barnes and Noble. I still wonder how I managed to keep even a few pennies from my paycheck. My books at home are organized by genre and then alphebetized (aren't everyones'?) and I take the liberty of giving you an organized list here, only mentioning that authors' names include thier entire canon (still under construction, I warn you):
CLASSICS: Dante, Shakespeare, Jane Eyre, Sherlock Holmes, Les Miserables, Hard Times, Villette, Pride and Prejudice, The Plays of Phillip Massinger
MYSTERIES: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Elizabeth Peters...
FICTION: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Eyre Affair Series, John Grisham, Francine Rivers, the Dark Tower series (the ONLY Stephen King I consider enjoyable reading despite the ending)...
POETRY: Gerard Manley Hopkins, T.S. Eliot, William Wordsworth, John Donne, Shakespeare, Suzanne Lummis ("Barbie Coffin" in particular)...
HISTORY: Shelby Foote, The Day Lincoln was Shot, Allison Weir, Antonia Frasier, Divorced, Beheaded, Died (only in humor, of course), anything well written covering English history or the Civil War...
YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Sons of Liberty (Adele Griffin), Laurie Halse Anderson, A Crack in the Line, Eragon/Eldest (Christopher Paolini), Chasing Vermeer, The Secret Garden...
THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BARREL: You have been warned...these books are NOT what I consider worthwhile- Their Eyes Were Watching God, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Walt Whitman (the man did write a poem in praise of his armpits), anything by Henry David Makes Me Want to Throw-Up
About me:
I am:
1. a demented little pixie...
2. a list-maker
3. a seventh-grade English teacher
4. a believer in faith, hope and love
5. a daughter and (recently) a wife
6. an obsessive-compulsive neat freak
7. prone to a $15/day habit (reading, of course)
8. an adorer of anything sparkly
9. a continual work in progress
10. a seeker after goodness, truth, and beauty
11. a cavalier, not a roundhead (according to one college professor)!
12. the goddess of Diet Coke (also according to a prof)
JUST THE FACTS
Who I'd like to meet:
*Abraham Lincoln
*Theodore Roosevelt
*Charlotte Bronte
*Winston Churchill
*Any of the Inklings :)
*Richard III
(Actually, come to think of it that would make for a REALLY interesting dinner party)
~* Shakespearean Drama Queen *~'s Friend Space (Top 11)
Hi Sissy! Love you! I found one of my best friends from when I was like 6....it is great to hear from people from the past. Charles should remember her.... Nichole.. he used to have to go knock on the door to see if she could come play because I was too shy! Lol.... Love ya guys xoxo♥Amanda
Hey chica - was up in Williams this wknd and passed by your place a few times. The first time I was reading and didn't realize until a few miles down the road and the second time I was just so heart-sore I didn't feel like talking to anyone. However, I did say "hi" in my head to you!
Hi there we just got internet again Abbi is getting so big she will be a year old May ninth. It happening too soon i want to pull my hair out. How is everything where you are? Email me .
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