So, as you can see from the fact that it's almost the end of August and I'm only now posting the May wrap-up, it's been a tad busy around here. Just a bit. But I'm hoping to slowly start catching up on these wrap-ups! We'll see how much I get done with college classes starting on Monday, but a girl can be optimistic, right?
Books I Read
5/5
Can we take a moment to appreciate Cait's incredibly good fortune when it comes to cover design? Seriously, both of her books are so pretty! Now can we take a moment to appreciate what a talented writer she is? I think I may have liked this one even better than A Thousand Perfect Notes, and that was hard to top. I'm not sure, they're both such different books. I loved the poetic style, as always, and the characters that just leapt off the page with personality. And the OTP!!! I ship it so much!!! It was such a sweet, feels-y book that made me shed a tear or two. Loved it!
Movies I Watched
3.5/5
So glad I finally saw this! It was one of those classic movies I'd been meaning to watch forever but never got around to. It was wild, but I liked the whole thing. Keanu Reeves' acting style takes a little getting used to, but other than that, it was great. xD
2/5
This was super odd. Definitely not a movie I'd watch on my own, but it was fun to watch it with others so we could insert sarcastic commentary every once in a while. I watched it with my brother and my now boyfriend since it was a movie we'd joked about seeing for like eight or nine months. Not a great movie, but a fun night!
4/5
It was so strange watching "Les Mis" without anyone singing. The acting was great, the story was amazing as always, and the characters were exactly as they should be, but it was weird for me. I definitely prefer the story with music. And it was weird having one of the plotlines cut, though I understand why they did it since this version wasn't a musical.
4/5
I loved this. It was super dark and unnerving, but something about criminals has always fascinated me, so I love stories following detectives or cops or lawyers. It was gripping the entire time and it was really well acted. I saw a couple of the plot twists coming, but that wouldn't stop me from watching the sequels.
4/5
Excellent biopic! I didn't know most of the backstory behind J.R.R. Tolkien, so it was interesting learning about his life. For those who are expecting a lot about Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, it barely touches on those stories at all, so don't get your hopes up. But it was a great story about friendship and you can definitely see which of the people he knew influenced the characters. Quotes I Wrote
This is my life right now, so no quotes to share.
Obsessions I Acquired
"Hadestown" - Both versions of the soundtrack are excellent, but I think I do prefer the newer one since I've had some time to listen to both and get used to the different styles. It has very folksy, jazzy music with a dark tone. I love Greek mythology, too, so this pretty much checked all the boxes. My brother is especially obsessed with it, and even though I suggested it to him since I thought he'd like it, his continual obsession got me even more into it. This song is one of my favorites from the soundtrack:
Pictures of the Month
At a group vocal lesson to prepare for a recital. Our vocal teacher took pictures of us to prove a point that most of us still needed our phones to look at the lyrics and therefore had not be practicing enough. xD
Coffee with an old homeschool friend!
Prepare yourself for a slew of "Mary Poppins Jr." pictures!
Jane Banks and I were knee brace buddies.
Our vocal teacher with all of her students who were in the show.
Fancy dress day!
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
The last bank scene
"Step In Time"
"Finale"
Chimney Sweep gang
"Jolly Holiday"
Katie Nanna
Our fearless choreographer!
Why yes, Mrs. Brill did spend her cash on several loaves of bread from Panera in order to take a bizarre photo shoot with me.
Triplets!
"Jolly Holiday"
MPACT reunion picture!
With our director
Our assistant director and sound technician
This is one of my favorite pictures the photographer took!
Saw "Spring Awakening" at the Hershey Area Playhouse and it was so good! I loved all of the experimental choices when it came to staging.
Vocal recital! I was in several numbers, but "Sisters" from "White Christmas" was my favorite since it was the one I was most confident in. It's a great song for my vocal range and belt.
Group picture with our vocal teacher
Post-recital ice cream celebration!
Off to our first "Beauty and the Beast" rehearsal as a family!
I voted!
S'mores in the backyard with castmates
I got to see my friends Dana and Sam from writer's camp on Memorial Days, so we spent the day in Lititz eating tons of ice cream and walking the town.
Practicing our harmonies
Spring orientation at Ursinus college!
I loved working sound for MPACT's production of "James and the Giant Peach!" It was bittersweet not being in the show, but it was so much fun to still be involved and watch all of my friends perform.
And now for Scout photos!
With neighborhood dog friends
She got her hair all green and dirty after we mowed the lawn
