Talkative Tuesday :)))

Ok, so I missed Meaningful Monday...but I made a post on Saturday about all my friends, and therefore I believe that counts <3

So....Here is Talkative Tuesday #2

“The first woman was created from the rib of a man. She was not made from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal to him.”

 -Oscar Wilde

I love both the quote and the picture :) So when I see this picture, I see something symmetrical; and when put together with this quote, I see and read about equality.

Fairness is something that is really important to me and I believe that a woman should not be treated any differently than a man and that the color of your skin should not reflect who you are.

All people are created equal and you shouldn't "judge a book by it's cover."

It is about what is on the inside that matters :)

The End.

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

Friends

So... A while ago I made a post about things that inspire me... &&&

I have only posted about 2 or 3 of those things.

 I thought today would be the perfect day to catch up!

Something that inspires me would be...

MY FRIENDS!

From Surprise Birthday Parties...



Trying on dresses, even though we knew we were not going to buy them...



What happens after shopping {all day}...

Having Fun! Even though we were collecting important data for our science projects...



Hanging out with the bestie...even though I was actually grounded :)



Snapping fun photos at the church skate party :)))



Watching trains, eating pizza, and hanging out at the park...



Youth trips to the zoo....and acting like monkeys...

Taking photos in the fun mirror at Mickey D's :)



Hanging out after church; usually the park, and then some fast food joint...

Spending quality time with the one & only... Abigail....

 Having fun just being ourselves :))))



And finally...Having floss parties, pigging out, and watching movies...ALL DAY!

Thanks for being my friend!

Optimistically, Bethany Lea





Book of the Month: December

So, as most of you know...

I was given the idea to do a "book of the month" :)))

I started off by telling myself whoever comments on the post first can chose the book, however the winner suggested that I do a poll instead.

So, if you look at the poll on the left side of my blog...

The winner was Pride and Prejudice with 4 votes followed closely by The Invisible Man with 3 votes.

So, the book of December is

Pride and Prejudice :)))

So we will begin reading the book on

 December 1st (which is a Wednesday), and discuss the chapters that were assigned on the Saturday of the same week.

So I made a reading schedule, but it could change...depending on the holidays <3

Week 1:

Chapters 1, 2, and 3.

That gives you a chapter a day :)

And then the discussion will take place on Saturday the 4th.

I'll make a post about the chapters, with a few good questions. Also, for those who were not able to follow along, I'll also put up a summary.

Week 2:

 Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

I know this is a big difference from week 1, but I wanted to end at a good discussion point :)

There are 8 Chapters &&&

 discussion will be on Saturday the 11th.

Depending on how weeks 1 and 2 go...I hope that in the following weeks, we will have many more chapters to discuss.

This is so exciting...

but in order for this "book club" to work, people will have to comment ;D

I know this is going to be great!

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

Talkative Tuesdays!

YAY! Another theme day!

On Talkative Tuesdays, I'm going to post a picture and a quote and tell you what they mean to me :)

&&&& in response I hope you tell me what you think also <3

"The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step."

I love this quote because in order to achieve anything in life or get anywhere you have to make that one step.

The journey could be a long journey or even just a trip to the store.

Either way, you have to take one step and then follow through with another.

If you never take that one step, then you'll never get anywhere :)

Creating this blog was a step for me and I hope this "journey" can continue to inspire myself as well as others.

Share your thoughts with me!

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

Meaningful Mondays

So I'm going to start having theme days :) YAY!!!!

So Meaningful Mondays are going to be when I share something meaningful that happened that day or share something that I think is important <3

This is sooo exciting...

One thing that I find meaningful is...

 MY FAMILY!

...but specifically, my only brother...

 RONNIE!

A few of Ronnie's quotes:

"My name is Ronnie Hicks. I'm a nerd, and I like StarWars, LEGO's and awesome things.... I play WoW(World of Warcraft) ummm yeah that's about all there is to know about me......"

"My Grandpa, he's the best guy I know!!!!"

Ronnie is such a great brother, although sometimes...

 He doesn't like to show it ;D

One thing I love about Ronnie is how much fun we can have together. We have so much in common:

Our taste in music, our jokes, and even the need to defend our family :)))

One thing he would never admit is his awesome love for cats <3

I thought I would throw that in there since that's another similarity :D

I love this picture :)

He was someone I could share all my secrets with and when I did, he never made me feel like I was being judged.

He has been through so much  (well, we all have), but it seemed to all come down just a little bit harder on Ronnie.

He was always expected to be the perfect child and somehow it seemed that he was never good enough to meet my parents' standards.

So if I could tell Ronnie's story, it would go something like this:

I remember the day Ronnie finally turned from God. It was what I considered to be "just an average day" and then Ronnie stormed in the house screaming (something along the lines of) "I hate God, I hate you, I hate everything."

Dad was at work and my mom, sister and I were sitting in the living room.

All of us were confused at why he was saying such things.

Some little thing had happened that was as you could say "the frosting on the cake"...but in this case it wasn't good.

All the bad things seemed to outnumber the good and Ronnie was losing his optimistic view. He didn't believe that there was any good left in the world.

The thought of hating God was out of the question.

Who could hate God?

I finally got my answer after weeks and months went by.

He hated going to church, stopped bring his Bible to church, and eventually made excuses to get out of services.

Ronnie would do just about anything to avoid anything related in someway to God...including his own family.

As it became more apparent that Ronnie was growing farther and farther away from God, it also became apparent that we were losing the close bond that we used to share.

Even though it was a gradual process, one day it hit me that our relationship would never be the same.

We could never talk in the same way again or have the same feelings of comfort around each other.

So as I'm telling Ronnie's story, it seems like a tragedy and so far it is; but I believe in miracles and I believe that as long as I keep loving my brother and praying for him; no matter what kind of person he has turned into, 

THINGS CAN CHANGE :)))

"I'm here to re-write this tragedy.
One line at a time.
Hold on, I'm changing all the scenery.
It's okay we'll be fine.
Cause we know how this ends.
We know there's a better story."

Ronnie is the best brother anyone could ever ask for and sometimes it is really hard not to have him living here at home, but it makes it all the more special when he comes by for a visit. :)

I love my brother. One day he'll come around, you wait and see <3

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

Henry Ford...

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

New Idea!

Okie Dokie...

So one of my followers suggested that I tried a monthly book blogging discussion. At first I thought it was a terrible idea but then I decided..."WHY NOT?"

So Calie, this is for you.

In order to have a monthly book, I need some book suggestions.

I think it would be fun to read the "classics"; such as:

• Treasure Island
• The Invisible Man
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• Pride and Prejudice
• Robinson Crusoe

and so forth......

Since every person reads at a different pace, I think that if we all read a couple chapters a week then everyone could keep up.

Then at the end of that week, I can publish a post and everyone who participated in reading it can comment.

Let me know what you guys are thinking and give me some ideas of books we should do. :)

I plan on our first "book club
reading" starting in December <3

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

Prompt #2!!!!!

Wow! I can't believe it has been a whole week since my last blog entry! :)

Well. Prompt #2 is finish and I cut a picture out of a magazine everyday and wrote about their hopes, dreams, likes and dislikes <3

Just a reminder on what prompt #2 was...

Flip through some magazines and find a picture of a person who looks interesting . Don't choose a celebrity or someone about whom you know anything. don't read the caption. Cut out the picture and put it on your desk. Now freewrite about the person, creating a character sketch.

Write about the person's life, her problem's and her goals, her background, whatever comes to mind.

Move toward some conflict in which the character can be involved. Then write a scene to explore that conflict.

If it interests you, keep going. Try this prompt everyday for a week, choosing a new picture for each writing day. Keep those characters and pictures in a file and begin building a stable of characters.

I made a collage of all the pictures I cut out! ENJOY!!!

They all had a different story to tell and all inspired me to write about them in very different ways...

I'm only gonna share a little bit about each one:

The two on the top left are best friends I cut them out last Wednesday night and decided to use them both. One for Wednesday and one for Thursday...

The girl in the green with blond hair; her name is Marissa.

The girl in the brown with dark hair; her name is Aimee.

They are best friends and they don't always get to spend that much time together. Marissa is very outgoing while Aimee tends to be on the quiet side.

Next came the girl in the bottom left corner... or the girl in the hoodie...

 Her name is Destiny.

She loves to dance and one day hopes to open up a dance studio for less fortunate girls in her hometown.

Next to Destiny is a girl in a formal dress; her name is Kimberly.

Her mom is her best friend. She was just voted homecoming queen at her school. However, she recently found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her.

On the bottom right, the girl sitting on the bed; her name is Tori.

She is the youngest sister out of 6, sometimes she feels left out or invisible.

The girl in the only black and white photo on the page; her name is Savannah.

Savannah loves to play piano and she collects stamps and postcards. If she decides to go to college she will be the first in her family.

Last but not least, is a girl in a very colorful photo, reading a book; her name is Hannah.

Well obviously, Hannah loves reading and everything about books. She has a unique style of clothing and is often complimented on her sense of creativity.

I cut all of these pictures out of Seventeen Magazine and have never met any of these girls in my life.

However, I can't wait to continue their stories :)

I've also been suggested some fun new ideas for my blog!

I am so excited to try them!!! 

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

New Characters :)

So...I just finished prompt #1 :)))

If you don't want to look at the other post ...here it is:

List at least half a dozen people you know who interest you enough to write about them.         

Describe why you find them interesting.

If you want, re-create them as fictional characters.

Making up new names and changing some aspects of their personalities, but leaving the real people pretty much as they are.

Writing Journal :)

One thing that I absolutely love to do is write <3

I love to write all kinds of things:

Fiction

Poetry

Short Stories

and even Fairy Tales...

Sometimes I just have a little trouble getting started....

I recently bought this book at the thrift store {for 50 cents}!

It has some really fun and exciting ideas in it that could be really inspiring or could be just the thing you need to finish that novel you keep telling yourself to write :)

Here are some of my favorite prompts:

About Character:

#1

• List at least half a dozen people you know who interest you enough to write about them.         
• Describe why you find them interesting.
• If you want, re-create them as fictional characters.
• Making up new names and changing some aspects of their personalities, but leaving the real people pretty much as they are.

#2 (This is my favorite)

Flip through some magazines and find a picture of a person who looks interesting . Don't choose a celebrity or someone about whom you know anything. don't read the caption. Cut out the picture and put it on your desk. Now freewrite about the person, creating a character sketch.

Write about the person's life , her problem's and her goals, her background, whatever comes to mind.

Move toward some conflict in which the character can be involved. Then write a scene to explore that conflict.

If it interests you, keep going. Try this prompt everyday for a week, choosing a new picture for each writing day. Keep those characters and pictures in a file and begin building a stable of characters.

Okie Dokie.

Both of these prompts are really good starters for a book.

I think I should start with the 1st prompt and keep you updated as the details grow. Who knows...maybe you'll end up being one of the people I choose to write about. :)

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

Anger Leads to.... Baking????

Yup.

You Read The Title Right!

Anger leads to BAKING :)))

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love to bake and find it soothing, as well as very inspirational.

Here it goes...

Have you ever been really angry at someone???

I mean REALLY, REALLY ANGRY?

ok...now times that by 10.

just kidding.

Baking makes me so happy and I know that no matter how bad my day has been or how many people have upset me, that I can always..

Go home.

Open the cabinet.

Pull out the flour, sugar, and vanilla extract...

And create something that can hopefully brighten one person's day :)

By baking when I'm angry, I hope to make someone else happy and to make them feel a little better inside.

I transform all that anger into (what I call) that

"warm little fuzzy feeling."

When I see someone else smile, I almost immediately forget what made me upset in the first place.

By the time the second bite of whatever dessert I make is taken, I throw away all those angry feelings and "forgive & forget" <3

I can't believe I didn't put BAKING on my last post about what inspires me.

Well, Baking definitely should be at the top of that list!

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

P.S. You should bake something for someone today.

{I already have} ;)

Inspiration!!!!!

Things that inspire me:

-Books

-Music

-Friends

-Family

-Photography

-Scrapbooking

-Animals

-Anything Orange

-Food :)

I hope to blog about all of these things and if you have any other ideas.... PLEASE let me know!

I have a "plan" {whatever that is} to blog about certain things but, as we know, things don't always go as planned...

So, it may take me a while to get to all of these ideas and I might add a few as I go.

Everything will turn out for the better.     

(i hope) 

Who Knows?

Optimistically, Bethany Lea

My ABCs. Of Literature :)

So there are so many books I love and since there are SOOOOO many...
I thought I would share my "ABCs" {of literature}




A-  Austen or Alcott?




Pride and Prejudice: Austen

 



Little Women: Alcott

 

B- Charlotte Brontë

C- C.S. Lewis
{The Chronicles of Narnia}

D- DANIEL DEFOE

{Robinson Crusoe}

E- Edgar Allan Poe

Some of his works are kinda creepy, but they all make you think :)

F-Francine Rivers
{From Redeeming Love to The Atonement Child;
I love everything she has ever written }

G- Grimm's Fairy Tales

{A few common ones like Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel.
The Classic Fairy Tales are some of the best}

H- Cathy Marie Hake

{Fancy Pants... Such a good book}
Hilarious and Romantic! I love it!!!

I- Ivanhoe

I couldn't help but put this picture up here ;) How funny.
Ivanhoe is a classic that everyone must read!

J- J.K. Rowling

The Picture Says it All....HARRY POTTER. the end.

K- Sue Monk Kidd


{The Secret Life of Bees}

L- Julie Lessman

If you like a lot of drama..read these ;)
"Daughters of Boston"

M-Meg Cabot
She is amazing!

N- Nicholas Sparks

{He is such a good author that his books are printed in over 20 different languages} That's pretty amazing! :)

{ &&& of course I love 'The Notebook' }

O- Tyne O'Connell

Fencing, Foreign Accents, and Princes... what more could you ask for?
Read 'The Calypso Chronicles'.

P- JAMES PATTERSON

Holy Hokey Pokey....this guy can write!

If you disagree, then stop reading my blog RIGHT NOW!

I mean it.

He is awesome & you know it :D

Q- Don Quixote

R- J. R. R. Tolkien

{Action, Romance, Adventure...LOVE IT!}

S-Shakespeare

Is there really a good way to explain why I like Shakespeare soooo much?
I believeth not!

T- Mark Twain

From 'Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn' to 'The Prince & The Pauper'.
 He writes in a style that is very easy to read as well as LOVE!

U- Upton Sinclair

Seriously...You either LOVE it or HATE it.

V- Jules Verne

A very unique writer. Odd in more ways than one and yet...
 I love reading his works.

W- H.G. Wells

I put him in the same category as Jules Verne.
Odd yet Intriguing :)

X- The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Y- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

So Russian, Yet So Relateable?

Z- F. Scott FitZgerald

{If you've read it, you understand}

I only commented on a some of them,
 so...
 let me know what you think.

What authors/books should have been on my list? What books would you never put on your list that were on mine? Can't wait to find out!

"Curiosity Killed the Cat, Satisfaction Brought it Back"

Optimistically, Bethany Lea