I am, among other things…

...a cradle-Catholic, a gift for which I am always humbly grateful.  I love my faith, and it has helped me to grow in so, so many ways.  I love our Blessed Mother very much, and I love many, many saints.  They're my spiritual family, my best friends to whom I turn in times of trouble.  Some of my favorites are: St. Clare (my patroness) and St. Francis of Assisi, St. Elizabeth of Hungary (my Confirmation saint), St. Juan Diego, St. Gianna Molla, St. Brigid, St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph Cupertino, St. Lucy, St. John Bosco, St. Maria Goretti, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Agnes, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Peter, St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Louis de Montfort, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Blessed Mother Teresa, Blessed Padre Pio, Servant of God Catherine Doherty, Pope John Paul the Great, and St. Joseph.  Above all, I love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He's my Lover and my Shepherd and I can't imagine life without Him.

  ...the daughter of two amazing parents, and the sister to five unruly -- but totally awesome -- brothers.  I love them all dearly, but unfortunately, they've all gone their separate ways.  Yes, I'm the only one at home; an "only child" now.  (It's so strange!)  As of June 5, 2010, I am also a sister-in-law. :)  And, of August 20, 2011, I am an aunt!!!!  Oh, yes, and my brothers are all older than me.  I'm the baby.   ...a farm girl in the making.  We just moved to a house with 8 acres, so I’m trying to convince my parents to acquire some farm beasties. However, right now, we only have "pets": a dog, a bird, a rabbit, a guinea pig, and a cat. All of these are boys too, so it’s a very male household I live in!   ...one half Italian (my dad was born in Italy) and one half a mixture of Irish, German, British, and Scottish descent.  I'm a mutt and I love it!   …a budding musician who specializes in piano playing. I’ve been playing for over 12 years.  Last year, my piano teacher refinished an old 1924 Steinway that we had bought for relatively cheap, and it has been such an incredible gift from God!  Her name is Victoria, she has silky-milky ivory keys and the most beautiful, shiny, golden-red wood and she is absolutely breathtaking.  We have spent many hours of bonding time together.  I also have recently been working at improving my singing voice (I’m in two choirs), and I took guitar lessons for a little while.  It was glorious; if I had more time, I would take more guitar lessons.  Also, I own a table harp, a drum, an accordian, a harmonica, and a tin whistle; all of which I dabble around with on occasion.  I hope to become a music therapist when I “grow up”. My top favorite music artists are Enya and Loreena McKennitt, and some others I love are (not necessarily in order): Jars of Clay, Third Day, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, some Celtic Woman, Sara Evans, Nickel Creek (!!!), Coldplay, Sting, Gaelic Storm, Matisyahu, The Beatles, and some oldies like Frank Sinatra.  As for composers, both classical and modern/movie, I love: Chopin, Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, Scarlotti, Scott Joplin, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Joe Hisaishi, and Dario Marianelli.  Besides playing the old masters on the piano, I love playing the fruits of some of these movie composers.  Soundtracks are so fun to bang around on the piano!     …a friend to many amazing people, all of whom are very dear to me. I highly doubt I would be where I am spiritually if it were not for them, especially my best friends (I don’t have one, I have many!). They’re very special to me, because they accept me for who I am, and with whom I can be my nuttiest.    …a bookworm who spends way too much time reading when she should be doing something more constructive. I think I must have some sort of addiction.  I wish I had a whole month or two of nothing to do but read.  (Ahhhh.....)  My top favorite books are The Lord of the Rings, The Cloister and the Hearth, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Robe. J.R.R. Tolkien is my hero. As for other authors, there are lots and lots I love, but I don’t necessarily love all their books. I think it best to just list some books I love, and from that you can gather which authors I love and why: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, Inkheart, Inkdeath, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Little Women, A Garland for Girls, Eragon, Brisingr, The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, The Complete Fairy Tales of George MacDonald, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Good Master, Bob Son of Battle, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Bronze Bow, Calico Captive, Mara Daughter of the Nile, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, Roverandom, Stars Over Llorleya (read it here on AP!), Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Seer of Secrets, All Creatures Great and Small, Indian Captive, The Anne of Green Gables series, Ella Enchanted, The Scarlet Letter, Not Without Parables, Fragments of My Life, Gall and Honey, A Cricket in My Heart, To Kill a Mockingbird, Don Camillo and His Flock, Redwall, Mattimeo, Mariel of Redwall, Mossflower, Taggerung, Rakkety Tam, (and pretty much every other Redwall book there is), Beauty, Rose Daughter, The Princess Bride, The Circle series (really only Black and Red -- I didn't particularly like White and I haven't yet read Green), Thr3e, Peter and the Starcatchers, Watership Down, Master and Commander, H.M.S. Surprise, The King Raven Trilogy, The DragonKeeper Chronicles, Auralia's Colors, Shadow of the Bear, Black as Night, Waking Rose, The Star Wars Thrawn trilogy.…and there are many more, but I think I’ve already said quite enough. :D   …a self-proclaimed Lord of the Rings nut (or nerd, however you want to look at it).  I’ve already said I love LOTR and Tolkien, so there’s not much else to say. I’ve read probably most every Tolkien book there is (although there are many, so I know I’m missing a few), I’m currently reading The Children of Hurin and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, one of my many Elvish names is Galadhiril, I’ve seen both the regular and the extended versions of the movies many, many times over (as well as the fan film Born of Hope), I have the piano/song books, I have LOTR pictures plastered all over my room, I listen to the soundtracks regularly, and basically I spend most of my time daydreaming about Middle-earth (when I’m not reading, of course)…as you’ve probably gathered. My favorite characters from the book are: Gandalf, Éowyn, Aragorn, Pippin, Gimli, and Faramir; my favorite characters from the movies are: Gandalf, Éowyn, Aragorn, Pippin, Gimli, and Merry. (They ruined Faramir too much in the movies to make him come even remotely close to being a favorite character.) I’ll restrain myself from writing anymore about LOTR, because I could go on for hours talking about it.   …a wannabe artist who dabbles in the realm of drawing. Mostly I draw horses or people from Lord of the Rings; when I can.  Currently, I am taking a drawing class at the community college near us, and I have been learning some new techniques and developing my overall style.  It's wonderful and I love it!   Things have the annoying habit of knocking themselves down whenever I pass by them. No, actually, I’m just a klutz. An elephant on skates. A bull in a china shop. I am also an introvert, a pyromaniac (affectionately named so by my brother), a pessimist, a procrastinator, a dreamer, and a troublemaker when I get together with a certain friend of mine.  (She’s the main character in my essay “Knitting Needles Are Not For Knitting”, if you’re interested.)  I have three pipes: one is made out of corncob, one is made by one of my best friends, and one is an old wooden antique.  Their names are, respectively, Archimedes, Oscar, and Clive, and they are very condusive to thinking.  I have a fetish for spoons and have developed a fondness for cabbage and noodles.  I also have the talent of finding amusement in the simplest, everyday things (see the Knitting Needles essay).  I love sports and the outdoors, but I also love being inside with a book, and possibly a cup of tea.  I love rainy days, and thunderstorms. I love animals, especially horses. I love trees. I love flowers.  I love libraries. I love window seats.  I love the smell of freshly laid paint.  I love baking.  I love the smell of freshly baked bread.  I love coffee. (And mochas!  And pumpkin spice lattes!!  MMMM!)  I love my big orange sweater-coat.  I love chocolate milk. I love old books (any books!).  I love porch swings.  I love mountains.  I love being with my friends.     I also love writing.  No surprise there.   I guess it’s safe to say I love life. Let’s hope life loves me back.   http://faeriesandbroomsticksandunicorntails.blogspot.com