I'm Going on An Adventure!

It feels like summer to me. Granted it hasn't officially started by a calendar's standards.. but who *really* goes by that, anyway?

Summer is one of my favorite times of year. Which is funny.. because I think I say that about each season.. well, except for Spring. But that's only because it's always terribly windy here in the Spring, so it's not very enjoyable. =P

But I absolutely adore summer. Really do. For some reason it brings back very sweet memories. A certain smell or view... it just is wonderful. Hard to describe, but I have a feeling most everyone will get it. ;-)

The other thing about summer is that it seems to be the time to really get out and do stuff. That's the time you're the most free somehow.

Well, I had a ton of exciting stuff just land in my lap recently. Well, almost in my lap. ;-) First off, I had an opportunity to go and be a seamstress on a big movie set. I was ecstatic about that one. How cool would that be?!? I mean sewing costumes with a huge budget? Um yes please!! However, as I dug deeper into what would be required for it, I found out there were some things I really didn't want to get in to. So, that door got shut. But I have to say I was still pretty thankful for it, because it was a pretty obvious door. Sometimes they are hard to tell apart from 'obstacles' that you need to over come.

The other super exciting opportunity I've got coming up is actually acting with a big local theater. Albuquerque Little Theater. Some might know it because that's where Don Knotts and Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz in the "I  Love Lucy" show) started out. So it's pretty big. I've seen a couple plays there and they are outstanding. And now, I finally have the opportunity to go and audition. Don't know yet if I'll get in, but hey, just being able to try out will be amazing!

And so all this has gotten me to thinking... all these amazing things that are happening right now.

I know a lot of my followers are single young ladies. Perhaps some of you are waiting for 'Mr. Right' to come along and sweep you off your feet. Others might not be waiting for that so much, but maybe waiting on some other big event to happen.

Well, with all these things going on, plus seeing so many people getting married or engaged, it's made me realize how extremely precious and unique my time as a single person is.

I'll say first that I know being married is a wonderful and marvelous thing. A visual picture of our relationship with Christ as His bride. So I'm not saying that its bad in the least- just sayin' that now.

But to go on from there.... our time as a single is truly amazing. You are, essentially, very free. I realize you might have a job or other commitments, yes. But if you really think about it, you're pretty much on your own.

And then you realize.. you have got all your resources available for something really important. You're not spending them on huge grocery bills for a growing family, or paying for your kid's clothing, doctors, etc. (again, those are definitely a *blessing* when you have them!). Instead, they are all there for your use. And you can use them for something really important.

Serving God.

Honestly, there is no greater calling on earth for a follower of Christ than to serve Him. Whether it be by serving Him in the home raising a family that follows in His footsteps, or you're out on the mission field.

However, as you look at the different stages of life, there are some things that are easier to do while you're single. For one thing, if you felt called to go on an extended missions trip to another country, or even just out of town, you'd be able to, essentially, pack up and leave. You wouldn't need to worry about making sure it was going to work out for your family and husband, or anything. You could just go. You could volunteer some place that takes up all your free evenings. You can go and bless mothers with baby sitting or regular nannying.

There are seriously a lot of things you can do.. yet, sadly, I see a lot of young ladies who are simply pining away for the day prince charming will arrive. Now, don't get me wrong, I've prayed for that day, too. But the thing is, I've come to realize that, you know what, that day may never come. Do I want to waste my *entire* life waiting and pining for something when I could have just been *living* my life? And better still, living it for Christ??

Statistically, not everyone is going to get married. So right there I know there's a big chance I may never get married. Yes, I'd like to some day if God brings it all together like I know He will when it's that stage of His plan. But until that happens or until I die, I want to live my life out to its fullest extent. God gave me this wonderful, amazing, and beautiful life.

Why waste it?

The Sneakiest of Sneak Peaks

If that title didn't grab your attention... well, then I pretty much stink at titles- which we all know I do anyway. =D

So, I couldn't decide if I should call this a 'sneak peak' or not... it isn't really, but sort of is.... confusing, yes??

Well, I'm going to give a very brief 'sneak peak' into something I've been working on. I don't have a video or pictures to upload- yet. So, I'll just grab some of my inspiration photos off of Pinterest (Yes, I went and got an account... shame on me). ;-)

 

*None of these are my own photos. All taken off of Pinterest*

I'm hoping to get some actual photos of our projects up later on but we'll see how that goes (as we all know I'm awful about putting up photos... ). ;-)

Brain dead

Yes. I. Am. Brain. Dead. I. Can. Not. Think.  I. Am. Totally. Blank.  

Ok, maybe not that much.  There is only one thing that makes me feel like my brain has been fried.  MATH.  Oh, that word makes me shudder!  I am horrible at math.  It takes forever to explain things to me (thank you, Momma, for having patience!).  Then, by the time she is finished explaining one thing, I have forgotten the other, so we have to go over it again. I don't know what it is, but try as I might, I just can't seem to retain it all..

Any way, off of math, please...  That is, or so I thought, the only thing that makes me feel 'brain fried'.  However, I discovered something new.

Researching.   As some of you know (because you were readers of Country Musings before I moved over here) we are making a Regency Movie with some friends of ours.   After deciding that we didn't have time to do it right now, we figured we could do it over summer break.  This would give us plenty of time to get script memorized, and possibly make more costumes (we had only one dress per girl..). 

Well, I decided to do some researching.  A while back I had found a site that a woman had made specifically for looking at the different 'period correct' costumes of different eras.   She had a regency section (in fact, most of her stuff is Regency, so that is cool), so I ended up look over many, MANY things. Yikes.  Mostly it was trying to find details.  Little things you could do to change a dress, using very minimal accessories, or fabric. Such as the 'faux' sleeves.   These were long, gauze sleeves that would attach to your dress's original short sleeves.  Put these on during the day, take them off in the evening.  Voila.  'Two' dresses using a simple sleeve change! 

I was trying to find a lot of these little details so that it would be as inexpensive as possible.  We don't have tons of money to spend on this (nor do we WANT to spend tons of money on this), so trying to be resourceful is essential.  As in the picture below.  You could make that tunic thing and wear it over a dress. Once again gives you two new dresses without using as much fabric.

Still, I hope I got all, or most, of the researching done this morning so I don't have to do that again.. *sigh*.  I do love the little fichu that Elinor wears in the neckline of the dress. It is feminine and modest, but gives the dress an intersting look.

On the brighter note, I figured out a beautiful song!  I was sending some e-cards to some friends, and one of them had the prettiest music to it.  So, after listening to it for a while, I sat down and figured it out. That was loads of fun. :-)  I love getting to learn new, fun, beautiful songs any time I can. That way, playing music doesn't get boring.. lol!!   Well, perhaps for you really good pianists out there, it is easy to keep learning new songs.  I only had a couple years in piano, just to learn the basics, before I stopped and moved on to fiddle.  So, .I can't just sit down and play some big song. It takes me a long time to learn it, first off, and then after I learn it and play it over and over... I get bored and start the whole process over again.  You may think, 'duh, that is what you are supposed to do!' but I guess I am weird. ;-)

So, how was your day?  What did you do today?

In Christ's Service,
Sarah

P.S.  I added an 'about us' page (under code name of Country Characters.. ;-). Please visit it and tell me what you think!!