A Day of Thanks

 Happy Thanksgiving!!!

  What are you thankful for today?

My day was very nice, to say the least... we went to church for our service, and though it was small, and some friends were still traveling, it was good.

We went to have dinner at my Aunt's and Uncle's, right across from where we live, and there's this 'tradition', I suppose you could call it, that we do every year. We take a jar with colored decorative rocks in it, and each person gets five. We pass the jar around the table, and list five things we're grateful for until everyone's put their stone in. It was hard to pick out of the thousands of things I'm thankful for. I'll list the five for you I did tonight:

1. My salvation.
2. Friends, both near and far away.
3. The art of writing.
4. People that I've yet to meet, that I haven't quite yet.
5. The story of life as it slowly unfolds.

So, those were mine. So hard to choose! One idea I saw last year at Thanksgiving, was to take each letter of the alphabet and list something that starts with that letter. Sooo... that's what I'll do!

I'm sitting here at 10:08, tired, a little cold, and in my warm plaid over shirt, thinking about people, near and far...

The stars were so bright tonight as I walked down our gravel driveway, it was almost like you could reach out and touch them. But I can't... they're too far away. But maybe. Maybe one day.

A Amazing grace; His love to me.(And Angels – I have to mention in the same one! Smiling Angels, too.)

B. Breath. The next I take is only of Him.

C. Culture. The difference, the languages. Even though things are fallen, He is King.

D. Delight. The delights of life, the love of life. (And Dragons – I love dragons. Their strength. There beauty. Even though they're fierce – I love them. They're real.)

E. Emotions. For all of the craziness involved in being a 17 year old girl. All of the feelings that push their way to the brim of my heart.

F. Family. Blood related and not.

G. Goodness. That I have a heart that wants to help others.

H. Home. 11 years here, tucked away safely.

I. Imagination. The ability to weave unsaid tales, to dream big.

J. Joy. The joy of being alive.

K. Korea. I love Korea, and one day, I hope so much to go there.

L. LIFE. Every day is a page, every year a chapter, and every life a story.

M. Music. I hear it in my ears, though I didn't turn it on.

N. Names. The one thing given to us; what we're called by in life. Hannah Leigh.

O. Opportunities. They come and go; reach out and grab them.

P. People. I want to get to know people. People far away, people close by. I want to share His love with them. I'm a people person, and I want to help, somehow.

Q. Questions. Questions with answers, questions without... in the end, they're all answered.

R. Reason. That I'm not a dumb evolved animal with no meaning. That I'm created by a God who 'knows the plans He has for me' (jer. 29:11) – I'm here for a purpose.

S. Sun. The sun, so bright, so shining. It warms my skin; we are all under one sun.

T. Top of the world. That's where I am – He is good.

U. Understanding. The way two people can share something and not be afraid.

V. Victory. In the end, through prayer, through fighting faithfully, He wins.

W. Writing. The art – amazing art – of expressing your emotions, the ideas in your mind, and your dreams on a piece of paper.

X. … erm... what words start with x!? I could say Xavier Black... but he's a bad guy in my story! 0.0

Y. You. Whoever you are, you.

Z. Zeal. The burning desire to accomplish a dream.

What are you thankful for? Praise Him in EVERYTHING!

... I'm so tired. 

I'm thankful for SLEEP! 

*tired laugh*

Aaah... it's been a good day. ^_^

Hello, Us

And here we are, the minds behind the book. ^.^
My plotting buddy - Caroline. (And yours truly, of course; along with my favorite shirt. ^.^)
I was writing today, and thought, "You know - "Cafe" wouldn't be where it's at without her..."
So, I shall say it:
Thank you for being my support and library! =D =D =D
Honestly - she's planned so many scenes and small details with me; my book would never be as good as it's getting without her!
As you can see - this picture shouts us: everything from the shirt I'm wearing, our smiles, to the chipped alley wall behind us. Hello, us.
My friend of nearly eight years, and my brainstorming extraordinaire for pretty much every book I've plotted. (And not finished, haha!) She's the best - thanks, Caroline, for storming with me on the smallest details. >.<
It's always great to have someone to go over plots with.
So, us - keep plotting. We'll continue to wound our characters, nurse them back to health, and then hug them.

...
^.^

FIGHTING!
- hannah

 

2 Years Ago Today

Yes, two years ago at around this time, 9:23 AM, I was cold and wet, sitting with my hurting horse in the woods, wishing him to get well. Sadly, he died only a little while later. He was 28 years old, and had some sort of stroke the night before; he couldn't walk right. He'd fallen during the early morning sometime down a slippery hill, and was trapped in a big hole, straddling a log. My poor baby. We called as many people as we knew on that rainy, misty morning, just like it is this morning, and tried so hard to get him to stand. He tried, too, but couldn't. So... *sigh* We put him down. My poor baby. I miss him. He was the sweetest thing ever. Good old Red...
If you'd like to see the tribute my dear friend did for him, you can go here.
We love you, Red! Always!

 

*sobs*

They... won't.... LEAVE!
Over and over and over again...
the voices.... 

Viktor refuses to leave me alone. He won't go. Neither will Justin. Pounding, pounding, pounding my head with ideas. (It *especially* hurts when Viktor does - considering that hard silver ring on his middle finger that he enjoys popping me with when he comes up with some other sob story to tell...)
My characters.
Love them... hate them. Cry for them. Laugh with them. Shove them. Hug them.
.... my *head*.

Let me assure you people, who are raising eyebrows at me, wondering if I'm truly sane: I am. Promise. (Well, maybe a *liiittle* crazy...) Like the pin badge I saw the other day:
"Well, even if the voices *aren't* real, the sure have some great ideas."
^.^

Another reason for this ranting post: my Best Friend is going to kill Ethan. --.-- Okay - let me back up. She's writing a story. She has a character in there named Ethan. He's a bad guy. He's an assassin. How-EVER... she had plans to reform him. And for some out of this world reason that I'll never understand... she's going to kill him.
She knows well just how much I'd adore seeing Ethan reformed - (I EVEN CAME UP WITH THE STINKIN' NAME!!!) - and she's *killing* him???
....
It can't be happening.
Alright, Mirriam - I'm warning you - that image up there is what Justin's gonna do for the rest of his life if you kill Ethan, and this image down here is what *I'M* gonna do!!

There... *sniff*
I've had my rant. ^.^

-hannah 

November Night

Silence...

silence all around me.

The night air is cold as I stand quietly,

gazing up at the dark skies, tinted the color of November;

royal blue, the bare branches veins of spilled ink,

seeping into the black darkness.

A pure white moon rises; crisp stars shine bright.

I wrap my North Face coat tighter around me,

gazing heavenward, this cold, empty November night.

Empty, yes so full; the light of a plane, high in the sky.

I watch it, I wonder, "Where? Why?"

The silence is so deep, like this lingering thought, knowing you're there.

A whisper of wind begins to sigh, dead leaves rustle across the ground.

Is it my heart? What is this sad, lonely sound?

A Dragon; I see it in my mind's eye.

So fierce and brave... but I hear his cry.

What is this, Victory? You should not be proud. So young, so tender... stop! Stop following this surreal crowd!

Smile for me; I'm beginning to think it's starting to be genuine and true.

Don't follow suite; angel, be you.

Writer, close your tired eyes. Set aside your pen;

it will be there tomorrow; this chaos, all over again.

Go to sleep, try to rest.

You work so hard, doing your best.

Tomorrow, it will be the same; again, again you'll write for fame.

The sun is shining bright; today, the world will bring you another plight.

What will you do when your time comes, to stand, to say

What's right, and what's wrong?

So I stand here in the dark, so I whisper another prayer.

The glowing moon is shining bright,

the ink -it has spilled tonight...

with a sigh, one last glance, the quiet, soft voice:

Take Me There

I'm Determined....

To *write* today!

Book: Cafe
Date Started: August 28, 2011
Page Count: 77
Text Size: 12
Text Style: DejaVu Sans Condensed
Chapter: 8
Main Characters In: Erica, Jungsu, Daehyun, Adriana
Main Characters to Go: Viktor, Youngbae, Justin, Xaiver Black
To be Added: (... that's a surprise...)
General Weather: Cold, Autumn, Snowy
Characters Wounded/Hurt: (THAT'S a surprise, too!)
Word Count Thus Far: 41,642

I *love* writing! It's the absolute best thing - it must be! To all you writing chaps and chapesses - keep it up! I'm not doing NaNoWriMo - so I can't quiet imagine the stress on you - but, keep it up anyway! =D
Write! Write away! Keep writing!
Alright, down to business...

I'm leavin', and I ain't nevah comin' back!

*hits publish*
*pops finger joints*
*takes a drink of water*
*...and WRITES.*

*grin*

Helloooo Saturday...

And this, dear readers, is me at the end of a Saturday...

Saturdays. They always turn out weird for me. Kind of like, Garfield, for example. Mondays are always against him.
Not that today was particularly bad - just that - *sniff* - it's Saturday. There's always some sort of something going on. Today we went down to my grandma's to rake leaves. Personally, I can't see a reason in the world to rake leaves unless you have a $500 lawn. Then, on the way down there, alongside the road, we see a billowing cloud of smoke. Yes - wild fire by the road. The bank was burning. Dad swerves over, I call the police, and while on the phone with them, he backs up, comes back around to the fire, and within seconds the trucks were there.
"Get outta the way so we can get to it!" one man shouted at us. Okay, so, I can see him being frustrated - but did he really have to snarl like that?
On top of all this, we've been doctoring a rooster. In fact, he's in the kitchen now in a cage, holding his head all weird. Syringe feeding a rooster sugar water isn't the most pleasant thing around, but it has to be done.
Saturdays.
However, this Saturday is relatively nice compared to others; stressful, yes, but much less hectic than normal.

I love my family. As annoying as they can be - as much as I sometimes wanna lock myself in my room, I  *love* them. (Hey, I can be the same stinkin' way! =D)
Tomorrow is Sunday - I look forward to seeing my friends, to hearing God's word. I need to pay more attention to Him... I honestly do. Please pray for me on that, would you? My mind's in a spin, thinking about all of life. Sometimes I feel like tearing out the front door, out into the yard, and just screaming. (Of course, Saturday's do this to me... ;) But I always keep reminding myself - life is good. God is better.

On a different note - doing horrible things to your book characters is *amazing*. ^_^ It makes you love them all the more! Just think about it - he's crying. He's lost, alone in the dark, sitting by the grave where his parents are buried. He tries to console himself, but can't - it's dark. It's cold. His breath fogs in the air as he whispers something, tear streaks are visible on his pale face. He's cold, but he doesn't know it. He's afraid of the dark, afraid of the people in it. He's seeking comfort, but is rejecting the ultimate love from Christ. He's blindly groping for someone to love him, but doesn't know where to look. He's pleading for help, but doesn't know how to ask. He lays down by the tomb, hugging himself, black hair falling across his eyes, a sob catching in his throat. It's dark. It's cold. 
Yes, doing evil things to your heroes makes you love them.  I wonder just how many times I'm going to do something like this... >.> BWAH! I can't stand to think about it! My heart!!! ... I think it's breaking. T.T

 Yes... he's just been shot in the leg and as soon as he screamed, I fell in love with him. *nods head*


...

Saturday's aren't the best - life's good - and Jesus is *better*.
Serve Him in all you do this week!

FIGHTING!
- hannah

Memory verse for the week:
Proverbs 3:9-10
Serve God from your wealth, and from the first fruits of your produce, that your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

I'm Feeling...

 A little tired, but happy. I think I'm on the verge of doing something weird...

So, this morning, the neighbor's dog woke me up barking right near my window. I groaned, rolled over, pulled the covers over my head, and tried to ignore it. However... she kept. barking. I sat up after ten minutes straight of this, looking at the clock: 5:00 in the morning. I scowled, muttered something, and tossed the covers aside, determined to kill the dog. I walked through the dark house, opened the front door, turned on the lights, nearly froze when I stepped outside, and grabbed a handful of rocks.
"Get out!" I hissed, throwing them at her. She scampered off, leaving me to continue to throw things in her annoying direction. Suddenly, after everything had become quiet again, I looked around; something tiny and wet was falling on my skin. I looked up, and it was snowing! Little white flakes drifting down. The moon was still ghostly through the bare branches of the trees, giving it the ultimate 'spooky' look. I could have sworn that any second, a voice would explode out of nowhere, a crow would take flight from a branch, and the wind was whistling through the trees. Perfect.
Had it not been in the lower 20s, had I not been barefooted, and had I not been in thin lounge pants and an oversized t-shirt - I woulda stayed. But, that wasn't the case. So, feet aching, I made a dash back for the house, and when I reached my room, leaped into my bed and under my warm, fuzzy covers.
Ah. Bliss.
However, it was beautiful. After that, I had weird dreams about things to do with white-dyed hair, and the set of Veggie Tales: The Toy that Saved Christmas. >.> Weird things, indeed. I said to the person with white dyed hair, "What *is* this thing?" They looked at me, around at the contraption, and back at me. Totally prosaic. "... I don't know."
*shrugs* Me an' my dreams, people.

Life's been good. Lot's of interesting things going on. I STILL can't believe that it's almost the end of 2011! YIKES! Where'd it all go???
It's so cold here right now; and windy, too. I was sitting in the rocking chair in my room yesterday, coffee steaming on the table beside me, pen and journal in hand, and the wind was scraping branches against my window; that eerie sound right out of a book. I glanced outside, and the sky was an ashy gray; a couple of dead leaves drifted from the bare limbs of trees. It was *beautiful* in a sad, thoughtful sort of way. November.
Just the name, 'November'  -  it seems to beckon thought.
Remember to smile! Don't forget! Laughter is joy to the soul.
His compassions are new every morning, great is His faithfulness.
Trust in Him with all of your heart, and never on your own understanding.

November - month of hope

*collapses in happy heap*

Where I'd Be...

A rainy day in Seoul...
      the streets still move, the cars still hum by, but there's something different when it rains. Things change. Suddenly, the lights inside buildings seem warmer, more inviting. You begin to wonder, just what are other people thinking as they walk by, umbrellas in hand? The water slips away, pools in the roads; a car sprays it against the sidewalk - maybe against you. Rain. Beautiful, thoughtful rain...

This video is very beautiful if you turn down the volume on it a little, and pick a thoughtful piece of music from the playlist on my sidebar.

a rainy day.
a rainy day in Seoul.

What are you doing today?

National Cappuccino Day!

It's National Cappuccino Day!
Cappuccinos are some of the best coffee drinks out there - and for today, I'd like to have a special person explain it to you. I happen to have Na Jungsu here with me; he's been working at the Cafe in my story, and came for a visit. He's 20 years old, and has been working at the Cafe for about three weeks now; he catches on to things very quickly, and is now teaching a new employee about how things work. Without further ado, I'll let him have the seat. If he messes up on his English... don't worry... he'll continue his grammar lessons shortly. ^.^ *smiles at his insulted shout*
Alright, Jung Su - the computer is yours!

Um... hi. Okay, so, cappuccinos. The secret to making the perfect one is the correct ratio of milk to espresso - the classic recipe calls for three equal parts of espresso, milk and froth, but NEVER cream. (nasty stuff...) It is the milk froth that sits on top like a cap - thus the name, CAPpuccino. The froth needs to be firm enough to support the sugar for a moment before it descends into the cup, much in the way as good crema functions in an espresso. Don't EVER burn the steamed milk - you have to be gentle with it. Cappuccinos are the best thing to have on a cold Autumn day (or Winter, if you prefer...) Sad enough, a lot of people don't know how 2 make good coffees - here is a video I found this morning that does it the RIGHT way. The only complaint I have about it is the steaming - you need to move the pitcher around a little and it makes it much more foamy. (Hannah let me borrow the computer at like, 3:50 this morning; could not sleep!)
A really good top for it is shaved chocolate or cinnamon on the foam. Good stuff.

So now I'm off to make one - enjoy yourself a cappuccino; settle down somewhere and read a book. Or browse the Internet... in my opinion. ^_^

Bringing You Love from the Cafe,
- NA Jungsu

  Cafe Excerpt

(When characters are speaking Korean, it's in italics.)

Dae Hyun was standing quietly by the door, glancing around the streets outside. When he heard them come out, he turned to face them, nodding his head in acknowledgment. Jung Su leaned against the counter across from him, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Erica, who began making a list of the things she needed from the store.

"Alright. So, I'm you're help for today. I'll show you what to do. It is not hard to learn."

He handed him the apron, pulling it out of the pack.

"So," he continued, tossing the bag in the trash. "Over here – first thing's first."

Dae Hyun followed him, tying the apron. He listened quietly as Jung Su explained how the brewers worked, and took him through the steps of making the different coffees.

"The filter comes off like this. When you make the espresso shots, you pack the grounds into it tightly with this tamper at a 90 degree angle in a circular motion, like this..."

He took the small silver tamper and rolled it around in the packed filter basket in a swift movement. "Use your wrist," he explained.

"When steaming milk for whatever you're making, you use this pitcher," he said, picking up a stainless steel container. He bent down and got a jug of milk from the fridge.

"Say I'm going to make a cappuccino," he continued, picking up the filter basket and attaching it to the brewer.

"I'd fit the filter to its holder and turn it on. The water needed is already in the container there, so it's ready to go. While that's brewing, I'm going to froth the milk."

He filled the pitcher with just the right ammount, and inserted the steam outlet just under the surface of the liquid, turning it on. It whirred loudly, and he moved the pitcher up and down in small circular movements; the milk began to foam and encrease.

"Make sure the container is not so hot you cannot touch it," Jung Su said over the noise. Once it was sufficiantly frothy, he turned it off, setting that pitcher aside.

"Alright," he said, getting out another container. "Your turn."

Dae Hyun took the pitcher from him, pouring milk into it.

"How much?" he asked, glancing over at him. Jung Su noticed he was using formal Korean, but let it slip, thinking it was from his nervousness.

"Uh, about six inches for this one. We'll make a latte with it."

He watched him closely, re-pointing to what to do.

"Nah, it goes in like that, see?" he said, adjusting the position of the pitcher. "Now turn it on, that button there."

Dae Hyun flicked it on, and once again it began to whir. Jung Su guided his hand a little, showing him how to move it.

"How long do you do it for?" he asked, watching the milk begin to foam. There was that formal Korean again...

"Depends on how foamy you want it," Jung Su glanced over at him. "For this one, just enough until it is thick."

From her position at the other end of the counter, Erica listened quietly to what was said, smiling to herself as she wrote out her grocery list. Dae Hyun was so nervous, but was trying his best to do things right. She shook her head slowly, a small smile still on her face, wondering just when Jung Su would say something about the formal Korean. She knew very well that it wasn't because her new employee was nervous.