MASSIVE PHOTOPOST OF DOOM!

WOO! Hold onto your socks ( Especially if they’re baby pink and Beth gave them to you ) because I’m going to post the most massive photopost of all time, ever. And it’s all Dan’s fault. “You should take more pictures. No one ever really blogs anymore. Blah blah blah.” Well, it took a while to get around to it, but I’m once again skiving off physics and instead sharing my wonderful life in pictures with you.

YAY!

so…*gong* commence!

First and foremost. I actually found this term in the back of one of my text books, and I too a picture of it for Jon to see. I want to say that it was either one of the Histories or possibly a Government book. No! It was World History because I had to ask Coach if I could take a pic of it. The term was indeed Star Wars, but it was about Nuclear missiles or something. But it was Star Wars, that’s why I took it.

This is a mushroom Dad found in our yard. He checked it out and it was definitely a mushroom. It was really yummy too. Mom’s holding it.

Jon and I after Mama’s funeral. It was a good service and I cried so hard after I sang. I am so thankful for the help I had to hit those notes that day. ( I sang How Great Thou Art for those of you unable to attend. )

Saw this in Denton. Forced Jon to stop so I could take a picture. I want this van so much…

The most perfect guy ever. My friend, Jon. =) ( He’s the one who fulfills all the stuff on the wishlist. Isn’t he wonderful? He was digging a hole for the tree we got to Memorialize Mama and he was unimpressed that I made him pose for a photo. I like that shirt, too. )

The most awesome friend ever. Krista, the amazing. ^^ It says “Live to dance in the rain” i believe. This is from the epicdemic ( yes, an epidemic of epicness. I need to put that in the drictionary… ) that was our trip to Jupiter House.

This is Max’s nose. Isn’t it cute?

Flash on…

Flash off. It’s a pumpkin or vanilla scented candle that is on a burner thing so we don’t have to set it on fire and it’ll still smell delicious.

SALSA! And a really big container of it, too.

This is Copper Pig ( aka “Coppie” ) He holds Grandma’s coin collection and I inherited him. Isn’t that cool? I inherited something.

Chase once tried to steal this gargoyle. Not really steal…but he did transport him a long way down the drive-way. This is one of the only gargoyles I actually like. ^^

And this is his face. [ Mom collected gargoyles for a while. I don't know if she still is or not. But she brought them from England with her. ]

A random still life of keys, Frankenstein and the rose thing of Mama’s memorial. Yeah… I don’t really know. But I’ll pretend I do and everyone might think it’s artistic…maybe… xP

MY WATERMELON!!!! Sadly the zipper on it just died a few days ago. But this is my Watermelon change purse that I got with Lu and Jon when we went to Brighton. It served me well. And I still have the good luck coin thing that Lu gave us in it. Jon has his in his wallet still, I believe.

YES! SNIFF MY LEG MAX!!! DO IT……

Chris, the Christmas pig. She’s a girl. And a Piggy Bank. Like Coppie, but not copper.

Dad’s building a doll house. It’s conveniently located next to scenic “Back Door” and a wonderful Aloe Vera plant. Woo!

Welsh traditional national dress. Granny gave it to Grandma. ( Dad’s Mum to Mom’s Mom. )

Extremely interpretive. It may look like a Salt Shaker, but it’s actually about the transfer in the consideration of “wealth” and what hard work and wonky camera angles can do for you as a person… Or something like that, anyway.

This one I actually like for real. It’s a vase thing for flowers with Dragon Tears ( ie – flat marbles ) and water in it. I like the focusing. I like the picture.

From the “Orange Citrus Fruit” Collection. You saw piece one from my co-worker, Krista, yesterday night. Her’s was “Orange-on-Cup” mine is “Grapefruit-on-Grapefruit-on-Grapefruit-on-Basket-on-Island” Why are they called grapefruit? They don’t look like grapes, and they’re not small.

The underside of my wind chimes. They hang outside my door and warn me if people walk into them…

This is my bathroom sink drain. And I wouldn’t have included it, but I told Dan that I took this picture so I thought he should see it… ( You remember that this whole agonizingly long post is HIS fault, right? )

It’s a soda can. And I’m looking into it. WOOT!

Me as a pretty little child of about 5ish.

Me as a pretty little child of about 13ish.

The INSIDE of my microwave. Don’t worry, it wasn’t on. I set a timer on my camera and let it go off. I actually filmed that. Remember?

The ridiculously awesome star that Kasey drew on my hand for me. I kept it alive for like 5 days then it died. *cry*

Mommy and Daddy! We went to CiCi’s and were amazing.

Dad was trying to get Jon to smile. :p

It said “display” but it looked like just “Splay” to me. Which made me laugh. So I took a picture.

Alright, this one I actually have a memory to share with. When I was really young ( like that first picture of me in that poofy blue dress? ) we used to go to CiCi’s ( when it was only $2.99 ) after my pageants. Well, when I was little I used to love to use the Handicap Bathroom Stall ( it was a quite official name, actually ) for no real reason. I’ve often noticed other kids like to do that, too. I just wanted you all to look back fondly on a time in your life when you may have been sweet and innocent like that. So…yeah. Reflection over.

“Buy a yearbook or else… [ Rahmen will eat you. ]“

A close up of a pickle. I love that focus. And you can see my totally awesome nails of watermelon.

Chocolate lunch milk, yum!

Because that many E Numbers has to be artistic… =D ( English people get it, american’s don’t! Dan! Your job is to explain what E Numbers are to the american ones… ♥ you )

I’ll admit it. I did think of Porter.

My childhood home in Denton.

“Friendship”

One of my many Pepper hearts. This one at Braum’s. The second one I ever made. ( The first was at lunch. Colleen took a pic of it and made me happy. Krista took a better pic of this. I’m afraid this is just a phonto. ) I might start a collection of them…

It was a little kid toy Marine helmet. It looks like a yarmulke on me though…

We were at Wal-Mart, in the homewares/hardwares section.

But Piggy was not far. =)

Very nice lady with very nice eyeliner let me take this picture. Isn’t that COOL?! I love the star.

Krista’s hands. Playing a song. Being amazing. Cheering me up, if I remember. ( which is a pretty regular occurrence. =D )

LOL! Made me think of Krista. From the podium in my Government teacher’s room. WOOT!

Smoking is bad. I liked the way this looked though. The light blur makes it really cool ( in my opinion. And since I took it… He thought it was cool, too. ( don’t worry, it’s not Jon! ) )

Bright Green aviators…oh yes. Traded Drew for them. I ♥ them. It’s true. [ This is shockingly similar to my current Facebook picture. ]

And…last of all:

The picture that started all my random pictures. I thought it was really funny how it said “please eat me…” and I was talking to dan on the phone at the time. I think the conversation was something like “I’m going to take like a zillion pictures and put them all up on the blog. Then you won’t be able to complain ANYMORE.”

And so, the massive photopost of doom was born.

I hope you enjoyed it.

It took me like an hour, almost exactly, but I enjoyed…

xxdruxx

 

My Contribution

One of my favorite memories of Mama and I is a simple and short moment that has long since lost any connection to time or purpose.
We were on our way to or from somewhere on a warm, sunny day in the old, beat-up Dodge truck. We had the radio tuned to an Oldies station, listening to one of the only types of music we could agree on. I was playing a game on my phone and absently singing to the song in the background. I looked up at one of the many pauses caused by Denton’s compulsive road works and I realized Mama was singing, too. That moment, with the sun streaming in all around us, my legs propped up in a comfortable position and my Grandma singing for the first time in a long, long time, I was perfectly happy. The construction delays didn’t bother us because we had no schedule to keep, and we were, in that moment, totally free with each other.

[ Each of the daughters, and I, were asked to produce a cherished memory of Mama for the service tomorrow. I came up with this one. I don't remember what the song was but I remember that I was extremely comfortable in my favorite shirt and the perfect weather and that I was really happy that Gramma was singing, because she never sang. She didn't think her voice was any good. But I loved it. =) Happy memory for you. ]

xxdruxx

 

Embers

Your fingers set me on fire
Like the leaves you threw on the logs,
I burst out, hot and bright, at your touch
You found my pleasure so quickly
You learned my secret
Said it was obvious – which made me laugh -
And took full advantage of it
You made me gasp and forget myself for a moment
You made the levees break and the rivers overflow their banks
You made the world silent with your calloused hands
And it took my breath away
As the embers grew colder
We grew warmer and warmer beneath our soft, quilted roof
I tried to find your song
And I came very near to it, I think
Perhaps only a note or two off
In the morning, when the fire had all burned down
And our heat had all gone cold
They would think things that were not true
Instead of steady coals
They thought they heard a bonfire
How delightfully wrong they were
But how cold the morning would be

[ And when I die and the inevitable and unconquerable "they" publish my collected life works, this poem will have a small italicized note disclosing the fact that line 9 is in fact taken from the play Quazimodo! which I was stage manager of during this time of writing in my life and that, while the normal subject of my poetry - the very Phoebus of whom I was destined not to be Esmeralda - would fit so perfectly, "they" believe the young man that is the theme of this poem to actually be a little-known acquaintance with whom I spent the Sunday evening and Monday of the Observed Martin Luther King Day school holiday camping at my very dearest friend's house.

It would be interesting to write all the notes for them...then they wouldn't have to do that much at all. ]

xxdruxx

 

Living

Finally, iMeem decides to work with me. I’ll share this as my first CSC entry. Kiara and the ‘Busians have already heard this (since I was asking how it sounded and such), but this is actually the first original song I’ve ever done. I apologize that a few parts seem a little twtichy: I don’t have the best recording implements here. Then again, I’m a twitchy performer anyway. No lyrics (yet), just guitar. Technically this record was a “first draft” kind of thing, as I’ve made a few changes between the time when I originally recorded this and now.

I’ll pro’ly be posting more songs on iMeem if I get those recorded. I like sharing music.

“Living” by Riley Nauteling
(note: yes, RN is me. 95% of the time, I use either Riley or Squeak online.)

-=Amie=-

 

Winter Wonderland

SNOW ^^

The view from the train last week. It was soo pretty that I just HAD to take a photo. I will take photos more often now

Lu x

 

Écoutez à mon amour

Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Act V

Act VI

Act VII

Act VIII

Act IX

Act X

xxdruxx

Estimated running time: 40 Minutes

 

Entry One

[ My first entry for the Crystal Snowflake. Hover over the pictures for commentary. ]

Hello! My name’s dru.

I’m 18 and a senior at Krum High School. I have crazy friends at school. We dress up sometimes for no reason.

In my spare time, I blog, write, draw and – on occasion – suck people’s blood. I am, you see, a vampire.

My best friend’s name is Jon. He’s exactly like me, but completely different. You might say we were made for each other. He’s my secret-keeper and comforter. He’s always on the other end of his phone, even at two o’clock in the morning when we should both be sleeping.

One thing you should definitely know about me: I’m a country girl. I didn’t use to be.

And it used to take quite a lot to amuse me. But now I am totally easily amused. And I love it. I have crazy country friends too!

The boys aren’t good at taking pictures.
I used to be a lot different. But I’m really happy with who and how I am now. I love being good and having friends and generally being American. ( No offense England! )
Here I have my religion, my family, my friends, my school…
And then there’s this Pig…

Well, that’s me. *shrug* Any questions?

xxdruxx

( P.S. You know that boy? I have a teeny-tiny crush on him…
)

 

Reflections

Tears fall like delicate meteors, destroying the beautiful ink lines of my past.
I wish, sometimes, that I could forget the past. Forget the horrible things I’ve done, the people I’ve hurt and the love I’ve lost. I realized that day, when I achieved the end I had been seeking for so many years, that I had no purpose anymore. I had to find something to replace my triumphant goal or I would cease to exist. I would die.
I saw those two paths stretching before me – either to take control of the kingdom I had just obliterated and wreak chaos on the world I knew, or to give up the violence and seek some other path.

[ Tag, you're it. ^^ You can take it where ever you want to now hun =) ]

If I gave up the one thing I strived to obtain what would I do for the rest of my life. Giving up was easy, but in a way it felt pointless. How could I give up freely what I had spent years to hold in the palm of my hand. From my childhood I was one to strive for greatness, being so powerful over the kingdom was my ambition. But now that I had achieved my dream I found it empty. Happiness was only a mere word in my darkened eyes, it had left me lonely since I was a young girl. It left me along with all other emotion. Sadness was the only one to take pity, and therefore became my best friend. Deep down giving up felt right, I knew in my heart that I was missing something, I wasn’t destined to be here. Perhaps if I had continued along with my path, taking control over this kingdom I wouldn’t have gone through all this pain and suffering. I would be a queen, worshiped by my people. Cold hearted and threatening. But no, I chose the other path. I disused myself upon the refugees of my abandoned land, if they had known who I was then I’d have been killed an inhumane death. It was no use, from the moment I stood in that camp surrounded by little tents, I felt as if I was being watched. Like death was hanging over my head. Months passed and I still had not experienced life. All these feelings bottled up inside that I just couldn’t let go. I wondered if I would ever get the chance to set them free. But then, one day we had visitors from another camp, two men rode horses with coats of gold and a young woman around the age of sixteen in the carriage that followed. The coach perched just metres away from my tent, but I stayed away. Watching over the camps reaction to the new faces. The two men descended from their stallions and guided the young woman from the carriage, her smiling face caught my eye. How could the despair I brought to this Kingdom still leave a little girl with such genuine happiness, I was confused. Once the men had led the young woman into the crowd I noticed someone else in the coach, masked by the shadows of dusk I was unsure if it was just my imagination. A young man stepped out. He was, in a word beautiful as if angels had carved his face. He was not much older than twenty four, just two years my senior. I was besotted by him, my eyes lingered on his face. I was not to know then, the effect he would have on my pitiful life. However, even though he caused me pain, I would not wish away the moments we shared together.

[I must say, i'm rather proud of my contribution Your go ]

[ OOOOH!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!! *hugs the angel-carvéd one! He sounds like the dude I wrote that one poem about. I love him already!!! ]
[ GAHHH!!! I let it wait so long! We will finish this section today! ]

The two walked through the crowd and I soon realized, from the golden color of their dress, that they were from one of the two remaining high elven tribes. In old times, there were four elven houses – Three High Elves and One Dark. My own house of peaceful music-loving elves had been destroyed by the royalty of the Dark Elven house that I obliterated. This left only the Solitary Elves, which dwelt in the forests to the north and the Gilded Elves that valued government and the finery of life.
My heart fell as I realized that the young man could never be with me. The Gilded House valued purity of spirit and purity of blood; an elf from a different house, especially one scarred with magic like I was, would never be allowed near someone from the court.
I turned my attention to the girl as she raised her arms to the whole gathering.
“Attention! My dear brethren of the once great and horrible Dark Elven tribe, your lives of oppression and fear are over!”
The angelic man touched her arm. Had I not been less than twenty paces from the two I would not have over-heard his words.
“Sister, there is an order in which things must be done.”
She smiled and stepped back allowing him the place of attention. The crowd had fallen silent and seemed tantalized by the suggestion of peace and safety.
“Dark Elves! Does anyone among you claim responsibility for the destruction of the destruction former tyrannical court and the ruin of the area?”
His melodious voice nearly brought me to tears. I could feel the pull of his magic tempting my own out. I realized very quickly that he was one of the rare elves that were called discerners. Elves like him had the special gift of twisting the elven magic that all of us posses and forcing us to reveal the secrets we hold. I grasped my staff hard and bit my tongue to keep from shouting out; I could feel the sweet coaxing of his magic caressing my own.
“Let them know that we will leave you in peace for your great deeds. We will leave this people in the wasteland you have created and let them be responsible to you. Step forward!”
I pulled my bardic powers tight around me, drowning out the scream of his persuasion. I would not reveal myself to them. The people would destroy me.
“If no one then challenges our reign, with the people’s will, we accept you into the great Gilded House of High Elves. Welcome brothers!”
The people looked confused but desperate for this to be a true offer of sanctuary. I let my internal struggle for control burst forth in the sound of a cheer.
“Huzzah for the Gilded House! You have saved us!”
Someone next to me took up the cheer soon the whole crowd screamed with joy that such an unexpected rescue had occurred.
As I slid back and away from the enchanting man, I let out a sigh of pure relief. I had escaped the eventual death that his sweet caressing magic had so definitely promised. As I walked toward my lonely tent, I glanced over my shoulder toward the devilish angel and for one moment met his eyes. My heart lept and fell just as quickly as I reminded myself that I would never enjoy the feeling of his perfect red lips or hear that mesmerizing voice speaking for me.

[ At long last... I don't think it's very good, but sometimes you just have to get something down to get to the next point in the story, you know? I'm going to go back and edit everything together later so it's nice and smooth anyway. ^^ Your turn =D If you could, please start it as a new post so that it's easier to find. I think this is a good end of this section too. The new one is part...Five. Awesome =D ]

xxdruxx

Lu x