"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." -G. K. Chesterton

I have always loved fairy tales.  I grew up watching Cinderella and Snow White, and when my friend brought a book of Grimm's original fairy tales in sixth grade, I read it during every break I could get in class.  I didn't really appreciate them until I was older, though.  Fairy tales have a magical quality that draws people to them.  They can captivate the reader and take you to a new world.  Recently, there's been a new show that I watch called "Once Upon a Time."  At first, I thought it looked weird and corny, but two people told me I should watch it within five minutes of each other.  So I did.  Here's the trailer:

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I got to go home.  It was a well-needed visit.  I was behind on laundry, eating, and family time.  I ended up getting all of those, some in excess.  This year, I made four pies, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole.  It was so nice to have all the ingredients you need right there, unlike college cooking.  I also loved talking to my mom and meeting my sister's friends.  I love Thanksgiving.  Probably more than Christmas.  There's something so special about spending days prepping for a big meal, gathering the family together, and recognizing all the things there are to be grateful for.  Plus, it's the start of the winter and Christmas season, which is the best part of the year.  Other than finals.  So with that, I better go study for those finals.  I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas songs, "White Christmas" by none other than Bing Crosby.  Enjoy! :)

"Joy is prayer - Joy is strength - Joy is love - Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls." -Mother Teresa

This week has been one of the busiest this semester.  Somehow, though, it was the best week I've had in a while.  And I'd be lying if I didn't mention that the Hunger Games trailer had a huge part in that.  I'll admit it right now:  I'm a Hunger Games super-fan.  It's an amazing story, and I can't wait to see it on the big screen.  Everything in the trailer was exactly how I imagined it in the book, which has never happened to me before.  So before I blabber on for a page about it, I'll just post the trailer:

Ahh, so excited.  Okay, but I also have more to say.

I've been thinking a lot lately, which is kind of normal.  I feel like I'm finally starting to figure some stuff out in my head.  Sometimes it feels like a jumbled mess up there, with all these different ideas and opinions that I'm trying to figure out for myself.  Lots of these opinions or thoughts really came together this week.  Despite the lack of sleep this week, my brain has never felt so organized.  It's a great feeling.

I wish I could explain more, but I'm still figuring things out.  All I have to say today is this:  this is a great world, and there's so much good in it.  Sometimes it doesn't seem that way with all of the politicians fighting for votes and the economy going downhill, but it really is good.  It's amazing that despite all the bad, so much good can shine through.  We just have to remember that.

So I'm sorry if this blog has been confusing, but I'll just leave you with a great song by Muse called "Starlight" that was playing in my apartment all night last night.  It's beginning to look like the holiday season, and there's always that special feeling in the air.  I love it.  So here's the song:

So enjoy, be happy, and check back soon!  And renovations are underway... :)

"All that is gold does not glitter / Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Today's quote came from J.R.R. Tolkien's poem in The Lord of the Rings about Aragorn.  I'll put the full poem here:

I love this poem.  Unfortunately, I have never read The Lord of the Rings books before, but I have seen the movies.  It's been a while, so I don't remember much.  I need to pick up these books and read, because form the excerpts that I remember, it sounds like an amazing trilogy.  It's the next thing on my "To Read List," right after The Three Musketeers and Anna Karenina.  Maybe it should go before.... :)

This poem is an integral part of the plot, apparently, but I also love it outside of the book.  Originally, Tolkien took the first line from a proverb that says, "All that glisters is gold."  I just love everything about the poem.  I especially like the last two lines.  My roommate and I have been talking about power lately.  I've realized that all powerful rulers or people of the world fascinate me, including dictators.  There were people who did terrible things as rulers, of course, but it still fascinates me with how they capture the attention of their people and gain power through all their different strategies.  I don't know what has drawn me to the idea of power lately, but this poem reminded me.  The line that says, "The crownless again shall be king" really makes me wonder.  Sometimes I do that.  I just sit back and wonder.  I wonder what it would be like to become a great ruler, or I wonder what it would be like to have power.  Just fascinating.

I don't really know why I went off on a tangent about power.  Maybe that's just what a perfectly plain, college-aged girl has to do once in a while--wonder about what it'd be like to have power.  That's probably why I love The Count of Monte Cristo so much.  And maybe I really should read The Lord of the Rings to get past my power-hungry ways. :)  So with that, enjoy the weekend!  Later. :)