30 Day Writing Challenge – Day 20

Post about three celebrity crushes.

Yes. If you know me, you’ll probably see all of these coming.

1.) Benedict Cumberbatch

I was going to post a picture of me clinging to a Benedict Cumberbatch calendar whilst sobbing, but I’m too lazy to transfer it from my phone to my computer. I would like to point out that in this picture I had had a very bad hell week (the week before finals). I hadn’t slept for more than a few hours the entire week. My car broke down. The night before, I had had to sing in my school’s performance of The Messiah. I had woken up late for a meeting, and frankly I was a little cranky. But still…the surprise made me cry a little.

I love Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s a wonderful actor. He adds something very unique to every role he’s in. I appreciate someone who can act on stage as well as the big screen. I would love to see him as Hamlet. Of course I know he’s married. I’m very happy for him and his sweet family. I also appreciate the fact that instead of shoving his newborn in the spotlight, he decides to take a few weeks to adjust. As much as I want to be a prying fan, I appreciate it when celebrities say, “No. My personal life is none of your business.” I wish them the best!

2.) Matthew Gray Gubler

I’m a big fan of Criminal Minds. I’m always rooting for the squirrely super-brainy archetype in the back of my mind. It impresses me that he’s a bit of a Renaissance man. He models, sings, acts, directs, writes… But it is very hard for me to imagine him being anything other than a super, crime-solving eidetic memory having kid genius.

3.) Josh Groban (Let’s be real. You saw this coming)

My mother introduced me to him when I was 13 after our choir sang a choral arrangement of You Raise Me Up. After that, the nice ladies in my church choir loaned me some CDs…since then I’ve been hooked. One of my best friends got me his autograph for my birthday one year. I’ve sung Josh Groban for two different occasions. And at long last, I’m going to see him while he’s on tour this fall!!!

30 Day Writing Challenge – Day 1

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I wanted to do a 30 Day Writing Challenge (which I found on Sudrobelle’s blog) to help myself get in the swing of blogging. I could wait for a new month or a new week to start, but why? If I don’t do it now while the thought is fresh on my mind, I may just continue to delay it. I forced myself to do NaNoWriMo a few years ago. If I can do that, I can take a little time out of my day to write a bit more.

So here goes nothing!

List 10 Things That Make You Really Happy

I’m honestly an easy person to please; when I get happy, I get really happy, and it’s usually because of the simplest of things.

1.) Sweaters, but more specifically cardigans.

Recently, I fell in love with sweaters of all kinds. Heavy wool ones with big blocky patterns; light, hipster cardigans; baggy Walmart sweatshirts… My wardrobe consists primarily of sweaters stolen from my mother. Falling asleep in my favorite sweatshirt during the dead of winter or enjoying the perfect spring day in my gray cat-patterned cardigan brings a smile to my face.

2.) My Cat – Miss Theodora Epsilonia Darcy

I love my cat. She can be a jerk, but I love her. She’s a princess. She’s lazy. She’s pear-shaped. But when her tiny face bumps against my forehead or her big ol’ rump plops down on my computer, and I can feel her vibrating with happiness, those are the moments I explode with happiness.

3.) Sweet Potatoes

This is my favorite food. Hands down. Ask anyone, but there are only two foods in the world that make me happy enough to sing: sweet potatoes and ice cream. If you think about it, potatoes are the perfect food. You can do anything with them. Fry them. Stew them. Boil them. Mash them. Smother them in bacon and cheese. They’re a meal, a side, and a dessert. Cover sweet potatoes in butter and brown sugar or maybe marshmallows or just eat them plain. I can’t be sad when I have a sweet potato.

4.) Josh Groban and Benedict Cumberbatch

Okay. I had to combine these two guys, because I fangirl over them equally as much. Josh Groban is my favorite singer, and Benedict Cumberbatch is my favorite actor. I think I were to meet either of them, my heart might stop beating. I can’t be sad when I hear their voices.

5.) Reading an artfully written story

Ever since I started college, I’ve found it almost impossible to enjoy a movie or a book because my professors have trained me to point out flaws in creative content. It sucks. I used to love reading young adult fiction as a guilty pleasure, but now I can’t get over the insane love triangles, dystopian societies, zombie angel vampires… I can’t even remember what the new fad is. But every once in a while, I find a beautiful book that still appreciates language, and it makes me happy. I recently read a book called The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The language captivated me, and even though the story was simple, I enjoyed myself a lot more than I usually could.

6.) Hearing the words “well done” or “good job”

I’m a hard worker. I want to get stuff done. I usually don’t care for recognition, but sometimes, I’ve poured hours into a project. I’ve thrown my soul into an essay. I’ve broken my back to pull off an event. Nothing makes me happier than hearing those simple words from even one person.

7.) Warm showers

I’ve mentioned this before. My “me” time at the end of the day always consists of a warm shower. My day is never complete until I’ve spent at least ten minutes standing under warm water, scrubbing away the rest of my day. It always chases off any worries or headaches I might have.

8.) Lunch/Dinner conversations

You might think my list is devoid of anything super personal to me. Well, this is probably the most personal. For me, my family revolves around meals. Our lives are so different, but they intersect at meal times. The conversations we share are the most memorable and beautiful. I will always remember my grandma throwing ice at me at Mimi’s on my 18^th birthday and hitting a nearby waiter instead. I’ll remember listening to four different stories at once and retaining every detail. I’ll remember diving into the platter of fajitas and talking with my mouth half-full of meat after a day at work. Every meal time memory is full of laughter.

9.) The color purple

No. Not the book. I fully believe that the color purple (at least one shade) looks good on anyone. Every time I see someone wearing anything in that color, I tell them they look wonderful, because they do. Purple makes me happy, and I think everyone should be happy wearing that color.

10.) Acting

Peter Quince from A Midsummer Night’s Dream

I’m not a professional by any means, but I’ve had plenty of time on stage. Performing on a theatrical stage is wonderful. I get terrible stage fright anywhere else but the theatre. I get to become anyone but myself. I get to make people laugh or cry. Every show is different. Sometimes you have to be a theatre kid to understand the happiness we get from performances.