Oh Queen, What You Do To Me

I was driving to work this morning and Queen's song 'Somebody to Love' came on the radio seconds after I had started the car. When alone, Queen can get me blaring my lungs like my life depends on it, so that's exactly what I did. Actually, many bands can get me like that, but right now this is a Queen story....

So, everyone knows I do have somebody to love (Aw, Eric), but towards the end of the song I surprised myself by tearing up. Actual moisture in my eyes! What the heck? It took me a moment to realize what was happening...then I had to laugh at myself...who cries at Queen songs? Oh, right...I do! Haha!

Little hopeless romantic Cacie...

But seriously, who doesn't love love? I know I'm not the only one out there!

Highlights So Far

I'm afraid this might be a fairly boring post. When the only thing I can think of to write entails the highlighting of a week that by no means was anything grand, then you can imagine where this is probably going to go.

Let's talk weather. Yes, weather...because for the past couple of days it has felt like Spring is finally arriving and that is such an uplifting feeling, especially for Eric (No one likes an unhappy man!). This year was an odd one for West Virginia. We didn't get a lot of snow but it was just plain darn cold for what felt like a lifetime. And seriously, if you ask anyone, they'll tell you it wasn't a normal winter. So, sunshine is a highlight of my week!

My book mentor has finished what I've wrote so far and has given me great approval. Far more then I think I deserve. He says I have a natural talent, there is a lot of great reading material, and I should be proud of myself. SO, wow, right? Maybe he's joshing me? Remember, insecurity is my greatest weakness. Anyways, we have a meeting together next Tuesday to discuss some of the technical aspects of the story and I'm sure lots of advice will be given. I'll let you know how it goes....I'm terribly nervous! I want to get his 'okay' before I post his name and publishing company...just in case!

And speaking of my story, I'm starting to adjust to the fact I might have to change my main characters heritage, or birthplace so to say...that's one of the things we're going to discuss!

I'm slightly addicted to Second Life and that's all I'm going to say about that. It's far too embarrassing. Leave me alone.

OH, yesterday I received my acceptance letter to Fairmont State University. Applaud me, I'm awesome! Haha! English Degree here I come! Eric was so sweet because he knew I was worried about not getting in (they do reject people!!!) so he walked it to me, which is about a two mile walk. Just so I'd have it. How great is that? Come on, give the man some props! So, I guess I'm going in the fall...Now the nerves kick in...I've been out of school almost a decade...gosh!

Uh, Twilight comes out on Saturday...!!!!! I have a funny, embarrassing story for you. I'm sitting at the high counter a few days ago, when I hear a familiar song on the TV I associate with Twilight. I immiedately whip my head around, jump to my feet, and run like I was on fire into the living room, where I proceed to happily shriek for a full minute while I watch the first preview of Twilight coming to DVD. I even had to shush Eric because he tried to talk to me during this time of glee. Trust me, you would have been amused!

So, for now there's my highlights of the week. Nothing great, nothing bad. Just a nice normal happy week.

Hope your weeks are full of the same joyful nothingness!

And now, to make my week and maybe your's better....

A KITTEN PICTURE!!! Let's hear the 'Awwwwwwww's'....I mean, look at it! I'm not sure about you, but this made my day! LOOK AT IT! The more I look at it, the more I just want to giggle with pure happiness!!! WOW!!! I'm in love!!

Story Tone

First off, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! I happen to be a wee bit Irish so this holiday is a happy one! Kiss me, I'm Irish! Ha!

Today I wanted to talk about music and how it applies to story tone. Totally lost? Don't worry, I know I was the first time I heard it. Let me explain.

A few months ago I finished the Twilight series. Great books, I highly recommend them! Anyways, I was reading up on the author, Stephanie Meyer, and some things she had to say. I found she loved the band Muse so much and that they had given her such inspiration and helped her to 'get in' to her novel tone. She exclusively thanks them in her acknowledgements.

That got me thinking. What kind of music and tone would fit my story? Every song and band I heard I tried my best to envision my story along with them. Nothing fit. Nothing seemed right. Until...

I heard The Fray. Of course, I was already a fan but I hadn't heard their songs for quite some time. I remember Eric and I were in Applebee's and the next song that came on was, 'Look After You', and everything just clicked. I was awed. I could see and feel my story with so much intensity I suddenly understood what Stephanie Meyer had been talking about. I next heard 'You Found Me' and I knew it was The Fray, because I had the same feeling all over again. I had found my story tone.

Every song by The Fray that I have listened to has had the same tone. Possibly the words might not fit but the feel of the music does. If that makes sense to you.

It brings me closer to my story in much more powerful way. It gives my story a voice and it truly is a fabulous feeling for me.

If you're curious I provided some links to the two songs mentioned above. I hope you enjoy them and envision my story along with them!

This one you have to copy and paste, I wasn't able to find a video that wasn't embedded, but I'm sure you won't mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs51Fo9fuGM

What Makes You Different?

Everyone has their little habits, their own unique quirks and ideas that make them who they are. We are all individuals and of course that's wonderful. Think if we were all the same....Boring!

So, here's some of my mine...

I like using the small silverware. Even if it screams bad manners, I try to use the small salad fork for my meal. So shoot me. They are easier for me to use...I have tiny hands, don't mock!

In the winter I pile so many blankets on my bed that sometimes you can't find me. And I like it that way.

If I'm not careful, I will grow up to be the crazy cat lady.

I love the color combination of black and white. Just check my closet.

I love polka dots. Very much so! Black and white polka dots are even better!

I enjoy hot tea and will drink it year round. Even in the blistering heat of summer.

I am Polish and proud of it.

Hardwood floors make me seriously happy.

I have never done drugs. Ever. Or smoked a cigarette. But yes, sometimes I am curious.

I wish my hair had wavy curls in it, but probably if that was granted, I'd want straight hair again. And I wish my hair was darker. And that it was easier to achieve then through coloring it.

Know how all little girls want a pony? I'm still waiting for mine.

I think my freckles are finally fading. Not when I wanted them to leave, but now that I've grown to like them. But I doubt they would ever go away fully so I'm safe.

I like to keep my toenails painted red. Although, sometimes I slack in the winter because I always have socks on. Sssshhhh, don't tell.

Being the center of attention makes me nervous. But I don't enjoy being ignored either.

I will stop on a busy interstate road and risk my life to save a kitten. Wouldn't be the first time...probably won't be the last.

I am easily amused and entertained. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

I am naive and will believe just about anything. But within reason. If I trust you, you can probably take advantage of this. Please don't!

I don't like my face in glasses. Everyone else does, but I don't understand. Hooray for contacts!

Meeting new people makes me shy. Or I ramble like someone on speed. Nerves!

Thrift stores are fantastic! And yard sales!

I either do it all or nothing at all.

My cell phone is not essential to my happiness.

I wish on stars.

I am so indecisive that at times it hurts. I can't help it. I honestly and truly have a hard time making my mind up. I see all the different sides and outcomes of my decision that it's just not possible for me. I know it's frustrating, tell me about it!

Clowns sort of freak me out. But I don't know why.

Sometimes I talk in my sleep. Or so I'm told.

I dislike being late for anything! I will be early or on time or something is dreadfully wrong. Missing the previews for a movie is unacceptable. It's still too late.

I am a hopeless romantic.

I can not watch horror movies. I'm to much of a sissy. I'll admit it.

I'm afraid of heights and sharks. Thanks Jaws!

One of my greatest weaknesses is insecurity.

I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But I'm not your typical 'Christian'.

I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener! Okay not really...but I just got the song stuck in your head didn't I?


All right, so that's enough for now. Or at least my mind won't let me have any more information.

Hope your weekend was lovely!

Thanks for reading!

Maybe Not So Random Pic Of The Day!

Okay, so I'm not going to lie to you...

This picture isn't for you at all...it's just for me....I just wanted to view it every time I came to my blog....I'm selfish that way!

But I'll let you enjoy it! Fair compromise?

The colors and artistic nature of this picture really got to me. Well, Shia's not so bad either...but seriously, I love the tone and depth of the photo. There's more to it then meets the eye. Just look a little deeper...

Shia Labeouf everybody!!!

Superstitious Much?

For almost everyone Friday is something of a celebration. An end to a horrendous work week and the beginning of a two day freedom. My 'Friday' technically falls on Saturday and so my weekends are a little off from yours. But all the same, Friday is Friday so we can all relate.

But what made me want to write about this Friday is the fact that we've had two Friday the 13th's in a row. That just isn't that frequent. Maybe two in a year, but never in a row. So, it deserves some recognition.

If you search for Friday the 13th myths and information there are plenty of sites out there with research galore. Trust me, I just looked. Myths ranging from the Bible, to the Norse culture, and to the Knights of Templar's execution. And everything in between. But my favorite by far is this:

"Finally, Emery suggests the number 13 may have an unlucky connotation because of its association with the lunar calendar (there are 13 lunar cycles in a year) and with femininity (women have 13 menstrual cycles in a year)."

Fitting right? I had a good laugh over that one. It figures someone would put the 'bad luck' of Friday the 13th up against a woman's 'time of month'. Makes sense to me, but what does that entail for us this year...with two in a row...Aw shucks we're screwed!

So, Happy Friday the 13th and stay away from the crazies!


For your enjoyment, here's a video that gets Eric and I laughing like hyenas. Hope it starts your weekend off right!

Going, Going, Gone!

I am one of those people who truly and honestly can not help but laugh when someone trips or falls (unless they're seriously hurt, then I can hold it in).

If I have ever laughed at your expense, I apologize but there was nothing I could do. Hopefully, you won't mind if I got a kick out of your embarrassment. But to be fair, I'll offer up a story of my own doing. As embarrassing as it was, I still can laugh at myself and I hope you can too.

Picture the scene: Basement Stairs.
Characters involved: Cacie, Eric
Props involved: Stair Banister, Dresser, and an Indiana Jones poster with Shia Labeouf as Mutt Williams.

A few months ago, Eric and I had to run late at night to the store. I'm not sure where my mind was but it wasn't focusing on my feet one bit. So, Eric was a step or two near the bottom of the basement stairs and I'm still at the top having only taken one step. And then it happened. I fell down. Actually, I slid down the stairs on my knees. Like a rockstar sliding across the stage, that's how it went. I can make falling down the stairs look cool!

Anyways, I slid almost the whole way down but thankfully I had grabbed the banister so I didn't go totally head first and Eric caught me before I crashed. I simultaneously started giggling and crying when it was done. My mind couldn't decide which emotion was proper so it just did both. Eric was worried I might have broken something but then I asked about my poster. My Shia poster.

See, there's a dresser next to the stairs and it has some junk on it but it also has my Shia poster. As I was falling I knocked it with my arm and it felt like slow motion when I saw it twist and fly through the air. I thought I crushed it. And I was concerned for it's well being. More so than my own. When I asked about it, Eric actually said 'Are you serious?' I think he figured out then that I was okay. In case you were wondering, Shia was fine, he just fell behind the dresser and didn't have one scratch or crease. Thank God!

I only bruised slightly which is really amazing for me. But for the next few weeks whenever I went to go down the stairs my legs would remember and start to feel like Jell-O. But I'm past all that now so it's only a matter of time before I take another trip down my basement stairs.

Hey Mr. Tambourine Man

I thought it would be fun, at least for me, to let everyone know what music or CD was getting plenty of play time in my stereo. So, for the time being....

Let's talk about Bob Dylan. You all know Bob Dylan, and if you don't you were born under a rock and/or raised by wolves. Obviously, I wasn't born when he came on the scene, but thankfully his music will always live on where people like me can try and sing along.

Even this should impress you if you aren't crazy about him. Over the span of forty six years, he has released forty four albums and written over five hundred songs. I mean, that deserves at least a 'Holy Cow' from some of you. And something else I learned, which is probably common knowledge but apparently I was born under a rock for this one...He's an artist too!

www.bobdylanart.com

He does it all! Play guitar, harmonica, and piano. Amazing poet! This man is a serious over achiever, don't you think? I'm not complaining but does the man ever sleep? What, the guy is nearing seventy and he's doing an European Tour! I salute him! I hope I have near that much energy and stamina when I'm older.

And I don't know what it is, but he's made the harmonica sexy. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's because I've always had a thing for skinny, odd looking musicians (no offence Eric), but wow, what an attraction.

Now for your enjoyment: Sing along with me...

Mr. Tambourine Man

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Vanished from my hand,
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet,
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise to go under it.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
Seein' that he's chasing.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Copyright ©1964; renewed 1992 Special Rider Music

So Many Books, So Little Time

The joys of being a book nerd are endless, far stretching and easily humored.

Take for instance my new habit. On Saturday after work, Eric and I drive up to Morgantown to Barnes & Noble and spend countless hours perusing their books, coffee, and music. Eric heads straight for the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and I browse the magazines first because they're eye catching and close enough to steal a bite of cheesecake. And it's so much darn fun it's like waiting for Christmas to arrive! It started on Valentine's Day, I mean how symbolic is that? One week we even went up twice and I have a feeling if it was in town, we'd probably spend most of our lives there.

If you love books I know you'd understand. If like my brother, you do not, the idea of spending any amount of time in a bookstore is pure torture! Which I can't fanthom, so I'm not going there.

Just walking into a bookstore is a thrill. Books have a certain smell and energy to them and I'm not sure I can describe it, but it gets right to your core and makes your brain all strung out with a love of words on paper. If there's a coffee shop in the store, then by all means, one is screwed. There's no going back. That is unless you dislike the smell or taste of coffee and I feel bad for you. Last Saturday, I got a latte and I had to tell Eric how 'chic' it felt. I felt like a book snob and that's all right to be. So long as it doesn't go to your head and you think what you read and write is superb to everyone elses. Don't be like that, nobody likes that kind of snob.

Here in my town, there's a great little bookstore. It used to be an old house because when you walk in you're greeted with old, worn hardwood floors and beautiful crown molding. The first floor holds the newer books and although that is nice, the treasure is on the second floor. There's like four rooms of used books for a decent price! It was like a choir of angels singing the first time we went up there. Last week I found a French dictionary from 1903 and I wasn't able to get it that day, but I was craving it so badly, I finally had to have it. All books deserve good homes. They need someone who loves them and cares about their well being. I was so happy with my new book I hugged it to me the whole ride home.

One day when we went Eric found a book he used to own but had lost in a horrible move. He was shocked to find it was the exact same one, only it was many years later. I mean, seriously, how cool is that? It's like the lost puppy who found his home again.

I only wish I could adopt all the books I love. They stare at me through the window with sad, lonely eyes.

Don't throw out your books. Donate them to people who need them. Heck, donate them to me. And go visit your local bookstore. Read them. Love them. Cherish them. They can become your new best friend.

So, I've clearly established myself as the book nerd I am. And that is perfectly fine with me and I'm already longing for my next bookstore!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

So, this is my first blog post. Exciting right?

Actually, add a tad of terrified, an ounce of uncertainty, a dash of curiosity, and then mix all those ingredients with the excitement and that explains it a little better. I feel like I should make it the best it can be but that's always asking a bit much so we'll just see how it all pans out.

You might be wondering why the blog address is what is is. Good question. I just so happen to have the answer at hand. The Bleeding Heart Yard. Maybe to you it sounds morbid and/or disgusting. I thought it sounded poetic, beautiful, and all in all a perfect description for what I was trying to tell.

I thought the legend of The Bleeding Heart Yard was truly interesting.

The Legend
Lady Elizabeth Hatton was the toast of 17th Century London society. The widowed daughter-in-law of the famous merchant Sir Christopher Hatton (one-time consort of Queen Elizabeth 1), Lady Elizabeth was young, beautiful and very wealthy. Her suitors were many and varied, and included a leading London Bishop and a prominent European Ambassador. Invitations to her soirees in Hatton Garden were much sought after.

Her Annual Winter Ball, on January 26, 1662, was one of the highlights of the London social season. Halfway through the evening's festivities, the doors to Lady Hatton's grand ballroom were flung open. In strode a swarthy gentleman, slightly hunched of shoulder, with a clawed right hand. He took her by the hand, danced her once around the room and out through the double doors into the garden. A buzz of gossip arose. Would Lady Elizabeth and the European Ambassador (for it was he) kiss and make up, or would she return alone? Neither was to be. The next morning her body was found in the cobblestone courtyard – torn limb from limb, with her heart still pumping blood onto the cobblestones. And from thenceforth the yard was to be known as The Bleeding Heart Yard.


And there's another theory about how The Bleeding Heart Yard came to be named:

Trey Philpotts of the University of Delaware writes that the courtyard is, in fact, named after a sign dating back to the Reformation that was displayed on a pub called the Bleeding Heart in nearby Charles Street. The sign showed the heart of the Virgin Mary pierced by five swords.

So, your first history lesson went well I hope. Anyways, forgive my lame attempt at humor.

I'll try again tomorrow!