In which I reveal a Big Secret...

Literally no kidding about the big secret either. ;)

(Also, before we continue, let me just warn you by saying I don't often use gifs, but I have a lot of emotions to convey in this post, so be warned, haha.)

So, I wanted to let everyone know because (1, it's fun to share in celebration and (2, it will affect how much time I can devote to blogging in the next few months... which won't be much. 

Why? Well, that's a story, isn't it...

In short, because one of my most long-cherished dreams came true. Any guesses?

If you guessed that I met a boy and fell in love at first sight and got engaged, you'd be wrong.

If you guessed I changed jobs or moved to a cottage near the beach, you'd also be wrong.

If you guessed I bought a horse, I'd roll my eyes and tell you that it's my older sisters that are the ones crazy about horses, not me, and yes - you'd be wrong.

But!

If you guessed theatre, you'd be correct. 

(I KNOW.)

(I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER.)

literally me

Earlier in February, a friend of mine sent me an advertisement for auditions in my local(ish) area. It was for a play of Anne of Green Gables, and the auditions were in 6 days. I was like... "Am I crazy?!" (The answer to that would be a resounding YES.)

My excitement spread to my siblings and soon we had three of us - which then changed to four of us - eager to take on the challenge. We all had our first ever auditions together (which happened to be cold reads) and it surprisingly went very, very well. The directors panel were super lovely and encouraging and laid-back, and I must also stress the fact that is is an amateur country production, so it is also just for fun (although they are paid tickets). 

A couple days later (which felt like a couple centuries), we got a phone call. One of the directors wanted to tell us individually what role we were all cast as. My older sister got the role of Prissy Andrews, my younger sister got the role of Mary Jo, and my younger brother got the role of Jimmy Glover. When it came to me, he asked how I was, and then, in a tone of voice that I knew meant he was smiling, he said, 

"So... 

..................................................................................................................................

..... can I call you Anne?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first phase was complete shock:

The second phase was pure elation:

And the third phase (several days later), was freaking out from the pressure to get it right:

On the phone, I'm pretty sure I just said "Oh, wow" in a dumb sort of way, over and over, while my siblings squealed and threw pillows up around me. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it! That they would give me, who has had no actual experience, the title lead role of the entire production. I have 530 freakin' lines!! (And the next major character has 112... yeah.) 

So you could say my life was flipped upside down. On top of some other things going on in my personal life, my weekends have changed from chill down-time to up to six hour long rehearsals and my free time is now involving memorizing hundreds of lines and working on character development. Thus you could say blogging is most likely going to fly out the window so that theatre can move in. I won't forget about this little space, but I also doubt I'll have time to share much. However, I fully intend to store up every precious moment of this adventure in words and photos and memories, which I will hopefully be able to share parts of afterwards.

this just gives me thrills

I might pop in and out of here between now and the performances in June, but I do hope you all have a lovely next few months, and I will have many wonderful stories to share when I get back! 

Now please excuse me while I go finish freaking out. 

Lovely Blog Party: Would You Really?

As I mentioned in my last post, Cordy is hosting a Lovely Blog Party for the whole month of February (it's nearly over! :(), and as part of that she has created a fun little Would You Really? tag that I can't resist filling out. :D 

1. Would you ever got for a walk in the pouring rain to avoid the company of a gentleman caller?

I wouldn't put it past myself. As a general rule, I would consider that to be too rude to actually do, but if I had completely Had Enough of said gentleman caller and was having a frustrating day... Marianne Dashwood might not be alone in her actions. ;)

2. Would you ever, truly, try your hand at matchmaking?

I think not. I would not dare risk the wrath if plans went askew.

3. Would you be comfortable wearing glass slippers for a night out at a ball?

YES!! Because apparently they're "really comfortable" and who wouldn't want to wear beautiful, comfortable shoes to a ball?!

4. Would you ever eat an apple given to you, rather forcibly, by a stranger?

I must admit I probably would, assuming the stranger didn't have a wild, evil look in their eye. Or perhaps I would ask if I could save it for later and then subtly dispose of it afterwards? 

5. Would you ever pretend to be a man's fiancée who you've never actually met?

No. There are too many ways that could go wrong! But I would totally take a photo with a stranger and pretend to be engaged as a joke, hehe.

6. Would you ever dance with a stranger that sang to you in a forest?

I would, undoubtedly. Call me foolish, but if he can sing well surely he can dance well, and if he can dance well why not dance in a forest? It would be so magical.

To be fair though, I'd probably look more like this and be
serenading myself, totally unaware I'm being watched.

7.  Would you ever be the one to propose?

That I would not be able to make myself do. But I would try to give as many Helpful Hints as possible if he needed prompting. ;)

8. Would you ever visit the house of a man you refused but is supposedly out of town?

I would avoid it at all costs, but if pressed I would go along with the overall opinion, probably advocating a very "quick trip".  And once there, no doubt my curiosity would get the better of me and I would be the one lingering.

Thank you, Cordy, for coming up with such fun scenarios to imagine, and for hosting a delightful event!

Lovely Blog Party: Sophie & Dr Harrison

Cordy is hosting a Lovely Blog Party for the month of February, and as loveliness is something I can't get enough of, I wanted to participate. Initially, I wasn't sure what to write about, and then I realized there was one story that was begging for me to address: Cranford. 

(Be warned: spoilers will ensue.)

I'd been familiar with the title of Cranford for a long time. To be honest, it never sounded extremely appealing, mostly for two silly reasons: one, it sounded a lot like cranberries which I didn't particularly love, and two, I had once heard my sisters say that the movie was just about a bunch of old ladies swooning over a young, single doctor. (Which... is not completely an untruth.)

My brother bought Cranford for his girlfriend and then found out she had it already, so he gave it to me. I had it there on the shelf for a shamefully long time (hint: years) because I had just started Lark Rise to Candleford and said I didn't want to start a new series until I'd finished that one. Only that one took years and I got bored of it after a few seasons, and by then, had completely forgotten about Cranford.

Then the other day, my younger sister and I were perusing our DVD selection, when the title Cranford appeared and my sister joked about watching it. 

"What a marvelous idea!" I thought. "I had completely forgotten about it."

We sat down to the first couple episodes and I must say, perhaps it helped that I had had a stressful week, it was raining outside and we had a fluffy blanket and snacks inside, and the story was one where nothing too draining or shocking happened. Perhaps if all those events had not come into account, I would not have enjoyed it half so much. But as it was, I enjoyed it. Very much.

Of course, my sister and I poked fun at the amount of deaths that took place (which soon wasn't even funny) and it certainly was not of a suspenseful nature, but it made me laugh, it made me smile, and occasionally, it almost made me cry. 

Miss Matty needed a long, long hug, Miss Pole stole every scene she was in, Mrs. Forrester was absolutely adorable with her funny little curls bouncing out of her cap and her warm, tender heart. (And her dear cow, Bessie, haha.) Mary was such a dear, sensible girl and I was so proud of her and her steady hand and kind heart. Mrs. Jamieson made me want to snort every time she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Harry was a dear boy, and I really warmed to Mr. Carter. Jessie had me rooting for her and I was so glad she ended up with her love in the end. Martha's loyalty to Miss Matty was admirable and sweet. Miss Galindo annoyed me at first but came out alright. (I especially liked her in Return to Cranford. But I won't talk about that right now as it doesn't even compare to the first one.) (Tom Hiddleston, though.) (He made it a lot better.) (I could probably watch it again for him.) (Okay I'll shush now.) 

Caroline Tomkinson made me want to growl and grimace every time I saw her but also, I quite enjoyed being annoyed by her, haha. Reverend Hutton was frustrating, but he did want to protect his family at all costs. Which brings me to Sophie, who is the most darling girl in all of Cranford, and naturally the prettiest. (That always seems to come in hand in hand in such stories.) Which of course, brings me to Dr. Harrison, who is a precious little boy kind, young man that seems in need of protecting, which in turn brings me to why I'm here today:

To squeal about the complete adorableness of Sophie and the Doctor.

I really want to say elegant words and describe the scrumptiously darling romance between the two of them but right now my brain is more like ;LKJSL;JGHA;LSHGLIJDK. 

So instead, allow me to show you fangirl in picture form, with some small interjections thrown in. (And I must note there is a shamefully small amount of good quality pictures of these two on the internet, so these were the best I could find.)

The kind way Sophie looks after her younger siblings. She is already a mother figure and is so young. Her poor, tender heart when she lost her little brother must have utterly broken. But then Dr. Harrison was so eager to help and heal her hurt. Both of them struggled with unnecessary guilt.

They seemed like two doves, almost; both so innocent, and full of hope and excitement for the future. They both had such struggles to face, and yet they came through, and grew stronger and closer from it. 

I must admit, it seemed terribly predictable that Sophie would become deathly ill and the Doctor was the only one to rescue and nurse her back to health, but also - the inner romantic within me was really none too mad about it. It was just so, so sweet. 

I think one of the reasons I loved these two was that they reminded me that there is good, pure, innocent romance still to be found. I'm quite sick of watching shows where it's considered normal to cheat or have a string of significant others; where loyalty and consistency seem to be disregarded as boring and old-fashioned. But oh, how refreshing to see a romance that blossoms naturally and sweetly. It reminds me of one of my favourite couples: Cinderella and Kit. 

They are one of my favourite kinds of love stories for all those reasons mentioned above, and also because their story ends in their fairytale wedding, and a happy ending is always, always the best. 

And you cannot convince me otherwise.

Now go forthwith, dear friends, and delight in all the other loveliness that is going on at Cordy's blog!