Esther's Story, chapter 1

I'm sure plenty of people have seen One Night With The King, but how many people know that this story is inaccurate?

Esther is not her real name. Her name was Hadassah. She was called Eshter because of the region that she lived in.

Ahasuerus was the king. He reigned over everything from India to Ethiopia (which was over 127 provinces). By the way, if you have ever seen One Night With The King, then you know that in the movie, they call the king Xerxes which was someone else entirely.

Anyway, Ahasuerus's reigned over all this land so he decided to show off his riches by throwing a huge party.

In Ester, chapter 1, they go into pretty good detail about the splendor of the king's palace, which was called Shushan, just so you know.

Apparently, the king's court was very beautiful. There were white, green, and blue tapestries that where fastened to marble pillars with purple linen cords and silver rings (purple was a sign of wealth). The beds where made out of gold and silver (beds may have been the reclining couches), and the floors where red, blue, white, and black marble.

So, the king threw a 180 day long party. Afterwards, he threw a 7 day long feast. Each of the different Princes and Nobles had wine goblets made from gold, each of the goblets looking different from one another.

During the time that the king was throwing this feast, the queen, Vashti, was having a feast for the women.

So, on the 7th day of the feast, when 'the king's heart was merry with wine', he sent his men, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, his chamberlains (personal servants), to get Vashti.

A lot of people think that he wanted her to come out naked. From what I understand, he merely wanted her to come out in her royal crown because he wanted the others to see how beautiful she was.

"...To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on." Ester 1:11.

No where does that really say that she was told to come unclothed. I'm not really sure why people assume that.

It does however say that she refused to come. And that that made the king very angry.

So the king asked his wisemen (who's names where Carshena, Shethar, Admantha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These guys where the Princes of Persia and Media,) what they thought he should do.

So Memucan decided it would be best to have Vashti locked away. He thought that because she rebelled, other women would hear about it and start rebelling against their husbands. This could very quickly become a huge problem. He thought that perhaps, the king should give the office of Queen to another woman.

King Ahasuerus liked this idea very much. So he sent letters into all the provinces that Vashti was no longer queen and that all women should honor and obey their husbands.

Okay, this is the end of chapter one. I will be doing a chapter by chapter story of Esther over the next little while.

Until Chapter 2,

Cheers!

A random post about a Sunday.

Well, since I posted my Halloween post today, it's only fair if I write another post about today.

SO here is my post ABOUT TODAY.

So, this morning, after I got up, I literally didn't do anything. I was tiiiired.

Yesterday, we had spent the night at Sharon's house because we went with her and her mother to the Grist Mill in Bakersville. It is the last water-run Grist Mill in North Carolina.

Our homeschool group likes to plan educational field trips like this, and since we are on the yearbook staff, we try to make it to as many of these as we can.

Anyway, after that, we spent the night with Sharon. I was sooo tired last night that I almost couldn't stay awake...although I managed to stay awake for 2 episodes of The Walking Dead.

And then after that...me and Daddy decided to watch Rise of the Silver Surfer.

While we were watching the movie, Mom decided to go ahead and set back the clocks, so a two hour movie only took us one hour to watch.

Anyway, this morning I was tired...to say the least. After the movie, I had stayed up until midnight on Facebook, talking to Nathaniel.

So today was Mrs. Ormand's birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. ORMAND!

 ...and as such, she decided to follow her fangirl trail for a while and see Celtic Thunder (her favorite people), so Sharon is here today and tomorrow.

Mim and her are watching Silence in the Library right now... one of the best and yet creepiest Doctor Who episodes of all time.

But this morning, Sharon showed up around 11:30. I was in the shower, so I didn't know that she was there for a while...

After I got out, I had about 10 minutes to fix my hair and makeup, grab my bag, and rush out the door.

Daddy's birthday is on Tuesday (election day), and we decided to go to Hob Nob Cafe with the Mikkola family (except Jeremy, who lives in California).

Mrs. and Mr. Mikkola

Mom and Dad

Sharon (trying not to be in the picture) and Miriam

Me and Nathaniel (guess who is who)

After eating lunch (which was really good), Nathaniel invited me to come play Ultimate Frisbee at the park. So we went (and Miriam and Sharon came along too). 

It was freezing cold outside (well, when the wind was blowing anyway) and that made catching the frisbee really hard. But I had a great time anyway.

Miriam was playing with us when her ribs stared hurting her again. She fell down the stairs a few days ago and now she can't run around without her hurting herself. So her and Sharon went and walked around the track at the park for a while.

After playing for a little while longer, Nathaniel and I had to go sit down...our huge lunch was starting to make itself known.

Then Mom and Dad showed up and we went to the Mast General Store just up the road. 

And then we came home.

And Miriam and Sharon started watching Doctor Who.

And I started posting on my blog.

Anyway, that is my day (so far).

Cheers! 

   

Halloween 2012

FYI: I started writing this post on Halloween when I got home...and I obviously didn't post it then...so I'm posting it now.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

So, today has been a very...interesting day.

Not bad, just...very strange....different than what I'm used to.

An average Halloween (they never really are 'average') is me, going to the mall, dressed up like a book character. When I was younger, I would have gone trick-or-treating.

Me and my sister usually do something. Dress up. Last year, her, Caleb, and I went to the costume contest at the mall.

This year was different.

So this morning, I got up and rushed to the window. Hurricane Sandy has been giving us some bad weather up here in the mountains. Not so much where I live, but in the areas around me, people have been snowed in pretty bad.

So, when I looked out the window, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sandy's super storm?

Nope, just barely any snow.

So, I skipped (and by skipped I mean staggered) downstairs to make breakfast.

Breakfast was cereal.

I'm not usually that...un-creative, but we had cereal, so why bother making extra food?

After that, we decided. And the result was...WE CAN MAKE IT TO TOWN.

Except Mim didn't want to go. That usually means that I need stay home. But today, she decided to stay home.

So, I got dressed, and hurried out the door with mom. Dad had gone ahead of us.

When we got there, Mom and I were hungry, so we went to Tucker's for lunch. While there, I called Nathaniel, since he was supposed to meet us at the mall.

He was in the parking lot.

So, he came in and sat with us while we finished eating. He was already in his costume (that I will reveal later).

We went to the bookstore afterwards and sat there and talked.

And talked.

And talked.

Then, I realized that I needed boots to complete my outfit.

So, I took my mom (who had the money) and Nathaniel shoe hunting...which didn't take too long.

I ended up with a really nice pair of boots that will be good for at least the rest of the fall. Maybe all winter.

So, after that, we went back to the bookstore.

And then, I thought it was already 5, so I went to change into my costume. Turns out, I was an hour early.

Then Caleb and Miss Karen got there.

While I was Katniss, Miss Karen was Effie Trinket.

Caleb was the headless horseman...

Caleb is in the front...yeah, his costume was...disturbing...

You can't see my costume very well in this picture, but there are others, soon to come.

After that, I got hungry. So did my mom. So did Nathaniel.

So we went to Panera for dinner.

Mom had to go back to the store (she was still on the clock).

While Nathaniel and I ate our dinner, the Doctor showed up.

SEE? He was there! Except he is usually a pirate...but he was the Doctor today!!

After that, we went back to the store. When Tanion got there, we went trick-or-treating around the different shops at the mall. Not everyone had candy, and once Caleb and Tanion got candy, there was only so much that Caleb could eat, since he was allergic to peanuts.... he ended up with 12 pieces of candy....

Anyway, so after that, I went with Nathaniel out to his car because he had a computer for me.

Earlier in the day, Dad had given Nathaniel a box and told him not to open it until later. I was pretty sure I knew what was in the box, so I begged Daddy to let Nathaniel open it whenever we went outside.

So he did.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand:

He got the Carrot Top Alarm Clock that has been sitting at the bookstore for...oh...about 6 years. Nobody would ever buy it, so they eventually just stuck it back in the box and it has been just floating around ever since.

Not anymore!

Well, I've posted all this and you still haven't seen my full costume...and I haven't said what Nathaniel was (cheers to those of you who have already figured it out btw).

There really are no very good pictures of me in my costume...this will have to do. Here is me and Nathaniel, holding the books that we are from. You already know that I was Katniss (or you know if you have been following my posts), and Nathaniel is....wait for it....ARTHUR DENT!

Okay, well, after all that, we came home (Mom and me anyway, Dad was still at work) and Miriam was home. She had gone trick-or-treating with our cousins who live right down the road, Kesha and Paige. Buuuut they had had to go to church so Mim had to come home. 

Anyway, that was my epic and strange Halloween this year.

Cheers!

New Halloween Costume

So, as it turn out, I've decided NOT to be Mrs. Lovette for Halloween. Since I am going to the Black Bear Books Halloween party thing, I'm going to go as a book character.

And that character is:

KATNSS EVERDEEN!

The girl on fire.

Okay, I've never actually seen the movie, so I am not dressing up exactly like what everyone else thinks of Katniss, instead, I'm dressing up like how I imagined her.

On fire.

Okay, not literally on fire, but in a dress that looks like I am.

But my only problem is that I don't have Katniss's pin yet.

Soooo, I have to somehow get myself one before next Wednesday...

Anyway, I just wanted to post something today.

And now I have to go make dinner.

Cheers!

Yesterday

Soooooo, Yesterday.

It was an unexpected day.

Not that I didn't know that Thursday would happen but...

Well, I can never get the hang of Thursdays.

So, yesterday morning, I got up at 7. Normally, if I get up that early, I can't get my brain to function properly. But for some reason, when my sister came to get me up, I jumped straight out of bed, got my queen-sized, difficult, and rarely ever made bed, made.

Then, since my dad had to open the store, we got him some breakfast and got him out the door. On time. Another oddity in this house.

THEN, we ran around the house, cleaning and doing various chores, before I realized I needed to get dressed for the day. It takes us a while to get out of our pajamas sometimes.

After lunch, I expected to have a leisurely day until 2, when I was supposed to start back with my guitar lessons.

Not going to happen.

We decided to go ahead into Boone so that we could take pictures of the kids who are in our homeschool group for the Yearbook.

So we went to Thoughtful Thursdays, the place where some of the homeschooled kids go to take some random extra-curricular classes.

Guess who was there?

Yep, Sharon, the girl who practically lives with us.

So we took some pictures of her and her mom for the Yearbook, then went upstairs to the band room to take some pic of beginner band.

Not too long ago, I was in band too. But then, since playing several instruments while trying to graduate was getting to hard, I sold my clarinet and switched only yo guitar. Not like my band teacher and guitar teacher weren't the same person, but still, I couldn't make it to band every week like I should have.

So, my friend Jason, whom I haven't seen since probably last Christmas, takes band. He has been in band longer than I have. I was so glad to see him, and I suppose he was glad to see me too, since it had been so long and I have known him since he was a very little child.

And then there was Anna, who was also glad to see me. She is the girl I sold my clarinet to. And I am glad to see she has put it to good use! She plays very well!

So, after we took some pics up there, we went back down to wait for advanced band, when there would be other kids we needed to take pictures of.

Then Sharon got out of class. Just picture her with us for the rest of the time we were there. Because she was.

Then, art class let out and Erika came out. The look on her face was priceless when she saw us.

So we walked her up to the band room and took her picture, then we waited for Bryce to come.

And we waited.

And we waited.

And then we got bored and came back downstairs where our mother told us that Bryce had just gone upstairs, looking for us.

So we went back up and Mim took his picture.

Then, it was time to go.

But it was really time to stand in the parking lot with Sharon and her mom for a while.

And then, somehow, Miriam ended up going with Sharon to her house for a while before me and mom were going to meet them at a potluck/presentation night that we weren't planning on really going to.

So now Miriam and Sharon are gone and its just me and my mom, headed back to the mall, where I am supposed to have guitar lessons.

So, me and my friend, Caleb, played this weird State Stack game for a while while I waited for my guitar teacher.

Then, when he came, I went to my first lesson in about 6 months or so.

I forgot how much I missed playing my guitar.

So now I'm learning a song called Boceto Andaluz, which is a Spanish piece, written by Bartolome Calatuyud.

And I'm learning the Charlie Brown Christmas song, probably my favorite Christmas song of all time.

So, since I'm playing a Spanish piece, my teacher told me to become Spanish, so we started trying to speak in only Spanish, which neither of us is really all that good at.

When he asked me, "Where is the bathroom?" in Spanish (because anyone who know Spanish at all knows how to say that), I pointed in the direction of the mall bathrooms, because that is really the only way I knew how to respond.

Apparently that was very funny.

So, after my lesson that was only supposed to be 30 minutes but ended up taking longer, my teacher started to leave, but my mom had to pay him, so we all headed towards the ATM.

On the way out, I ran into my friend, Nathaniel, but since I had to go with my mom to the ATM, I didn't really get to stop and say hello.

So, at the ATM (which is probably the worst ATM in Boone) we ran into this guy we've know for like, 10+ years, and who's kids were our constant companions in years past.

While Mom was talking to him, I went back to the store and, since I was starving, started eating candy out of the Halloween candy bowl.

That was a bad idea.

After that, I starting getting really spastic, and then I started talking to Nathaniel (who had gone into the bookstore after I had passed him) and we started talking about WoW, which made me get all excited and even more spastic. So you can imagine how spazmatastic I was being.

After that, me and my mom headed over to Heaton, where we were supposed to meet meet Mim. We thought we might be late because I had talked at the store a lot longer than I should have and then we had to stop the the grocery store and the gas station on our way over.

Luckily for us, homeschoolers are never on time, so we got there first.

Now, I had not told my friend, Mackenzie, that I was going that night, and I had not seen her in a loooong time. So when she got out of the car and saw me...well, the look on her face was awesome.

After we went inside and helped set up the food, we still had to wait for one more family to show up, so me and Mackenzie wandered around the church for a while, talking like maniacs (well, I was a maniac, remember?).

There was also a new boy who had just joined the homeschool group. He was really funny and nice, and me and Mackenzie both enjoyed talking to him. I wish I could remember his name!

So, when the last family finally got there, we said a prayer and were (at last!) let loose on the food, which we devoured.

This was supposed to be a presentation night, remember? So that means they needed people to present things. But there was only one person there who was actually going to do anything, so Mackenzie's mom asked me to do something.

Somehow, I ended up playing my guitar (which was still in the car from lessons earlier that day). I am sure I was blushing, but I couldn't help it. My piece was kind of lame after Daniel played this beautiful piano piece and sand along with it.

Anyway, after that, Mim and Sharon disappeared into the church somewhere and we spent the better half of an hour looking for them.

Then, of course, we stood in the freezing cold parking lot and chatted with our friends for a while.

Seems like the end of my day?

Wrong.

After I came home, I asked my friend if he wanted to come play WoW (or maybe he asked me, I don't recall, I was tired), and so we played WoW until almost midnight, (which is what keeps happening when we play). This is the same friend who I had been talking to about WoW earlier, in the bookstore. And now he has actually bought the game and we can play Pandas. And that makes me very happy, because the Pandas are adorable.

Except not when the male Pandas laugh.

After a while, I got to where I was too tired to play anymore, so I logged off and ended up on Facebook until out internet crashed.

And so I went to bed.

And that is the end of  my most recent Thursday.

Which I can never seem to get the hang of.

Cheers!

(PS, sorry there are no pictures in the post, I have none to put in here. Not really.)



 

Catching up!

So, I'm sure you've noticed that I have not written here in a while. Sorry 'bout that. But, during the time I haven't written, a lot has happened, so there is plenty to write about :)

First of all, I've been playing Mists of Pandaria, the new WoW expansion. WE GET PANDARINS!!

I love the Monk class too. I have sooooo many now though, it's becoming excessive lol

I have also been writing a story that I've been working on for about 4 years now. When it is finally finished, I will post it on my blog :)

My 17th birthday was last Monday. I have been 'celebrating' for a lot longer than that though! The Wednesday before my bday I went with my mom to get my nose pierced (I also managed to pass out in the parking lot afterwards, but that is another story). Then, Friday, I was going to have a friend over, but she couldn't make it. Instead, our friend, Sharon, came over to spend the night.

And then, there was the lovely cake that my friend Margaret made for me.

As I'm sure you know, I love Sherlock. My cake is, of course, the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock.

So, after that, we ate cake. And ate cake. And ate more cake. And now I know why you only get birthday cake once a year.

Me and my father have been watching all the Avengers movies. We watched Captain America first, then the Avengers, but I had no clue who Loki was, so we went back to watch them all.

I can't decide who is my favorite. Its a toss up between Captain America, Hulk, and Iron Man. And of course, there is Loki, who is really my favorite. I don't care if he IS the bad guy.

So, Halloween is in 17 days and I am yet to really work on my costume. I plan on being Mrs. Lovette from the movie Sweeny Todd.

Later, I will write a movie review for this movie, since it is one of my favorites.

Anyway, this is Mrs. Lovette:

Even though you can't see it very well, this is going to be my costume! I'm even going to carry around the rolling pin she has in the beginning. 

I am actually going to have to make my skirt for this costume. To be period appropriate, I am going to need a bustle... that should be interesting.

We had coyotes attacking our chickens for a while. Well now its big cats. Out of the original 37 chickens we had, now only 11 remain. And if it is a big cat, like we think, then a lot more then our chickens are in danger.

Chester, my dog, likes to run around outside after dark. Well, there is no more of that for my sweet little boy!

I used to have two sweet little puppies, Sam and Pete, but because of allergies. When we first gave them away, I cried so hard, but now, with cats and coyotes eating all the little creatures around the house, I am SO glad they are safe.

Sam: 

 And Pete:

And that is me, holding my sweet boys on one of their last days with me. Just by looking at them, I'm sure you can see why I didn't want to give them up. 

Yesterday, we went to our friend's movie premier of the movie The Rabid Troll. It was by far the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

And on the way home, we picked up a stray child. Well, she was riding with us anyway, but that's not the point. Yes. It was Sharon. Second time in less than a week that she has spent the night. 

I was up playing WoW with a friend last night until after 12. Then Miriam and Sharon were up at 6 and at 7 were watching Doctor Who on Miriam's computer. Right outside my bedroom door. 

But who can blame them? It IS Doctor Who after all.

But anyway, I'm done with my randomness right now. I'll try yo remember to write again. Very soon!

Cheers!

SPOILER ALERT: Movie review of Napoleon Dynamite

Hello Blog-readers!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Been busy.

So, last time I was thinking about posting, I was thinking, maybe a movie review of Napoleon Dynamite, one of the funniest movies on the planet. And this review might rival the funny-ness, because telling someone about that movie is not easy.

Here goes!

A movie review of Napoleon Dynamite

 So the story is about a guy named Napoleon Dynamite in highschool in the 80's. He's not real popular, he has no weird parents or anything (I actually don't think he has parents at all). He lives with his 32 year old brother and his grandma.

I the beginning of the movie, Napoleon's grandma leaves to go to the sand dunes. While there, she falls and breaks something.

So to keep an eye on Napoleon and Kip(his brother), their Uncle Rico comes to stay for a while.

In school, Napoleon meets a new friend: Pedro, the only boy in school with a moustache(I think that is how that word is spelled)

He also meets a girl named Deb.

So while Kip and Uncle Rico are attempting to make some cash by becoming door to door salesmen, Napoleon is at school with his new friends, hanging out.

Then, the school has a dance. Pedro and Deb decide to go to the dance together, leaving Napoleon with nobody. Pedro suggest that he draws someone a picture as a gift, then he might get a date.

So Napoleon sets his sights on Trisha and sets to work on a drawing of her.

Trisha's mother knows that Napoleon asked her out, so she makes Trisha go with him. When they get to the dance, Napoleon goes off to the bathroom and Trisha sneaks away with her BFF, Summer.  

So Pedro lets Napoleon borrow Deb for a dance or two.

Later, Pedro decides to run for class president.

So Napoleon and Pedro get to work, trying to make sure Pedro beats Summer. 

Meanwhile, Kip's online girlfriend has come to town. Kip is smitten.

Uncle Rico has been making a general nuisance of himself and ruining Napoleon's friendship with Deb. So Deb gets angry at Napoleon and doesn't talk to him for a while.

Whenever it's time for the candidates to give their speeches, Napoleon and Pedro discover they were supposed to have a skit to go along with Pedro's speech, but they have nothing prepared. 

After Summer gives her speech and skit, Pedro comes to the stage.

And Napoleon comes up with a last minute skit. This is Napoleon's skit to save Pedro's political career.

So, then the movie is almost over. Kip leaves town with his girlfried, Lafawnduh (that's how he spells her name).

Napoleon's grandma comes home.

Uncle Rico leaves and returns to his camper, throwing footballs at his camera.

Pedro wins the class election.

And Deb makes up with Napoleon.

So, now you should go watch this movie. 

No, I didn't tell you the whole story.

This movie is the kind of movie you'll just be sitting quietly in a room with other people, minding your own business, when all of a sudden, you'll burst into uncontrollable laughter because you start thinking about 1%. Or children on a school bus. Or a llama. 

Just go watch the movie and you'll understand why.

I would like to say a special thing here about a guy in the sound box. He is awesome and works at a bookstore. He knows who he is. That is all.

Cheers!