"That Anne Shirley would put on more airs than ever now that she was going to college—you'd see!"

(First of all: Don't expect a Downton Abbey themed post at all this week, for I have not seen DA, and so I won't be participating in DA week. I'm sorry, but...Don't worry, by the time this week is over, I might just have to watch Downton Abbey, as long as someone can tell me which parts to skip. :)

Today, dear readers, I started college. Let me just give you my reactions with characters from Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Anne of Green Gables.

Initial reaction this morning:

"I'll be fine..."

"No I won't, I'm gonna die."

"I'm not ready for this!"

In the car, on the way, with my dad:

"I'm totally fine! Not nervous at all--yet."

"Precalculus is first."

"Is that it? Is that the college?"

"I'm fine, really."

I got there pretty early, so I sat around waiting like this:

Like, I'm pretty sure that's what my face looked like.

Precalculus turns out to be pretty easy, even though we actually started on the material, because I just learned about functions in Algebra II!

"Is this for real?"

But then I realise it's probably going to get harder really fast:

Music was next, which I really enjoyed!

And then US History was a little boring, but that was because it was mostly about the syllabus, attendance, &c., which was about the same as the previous two classes. But the professor was mildly entertaining. :)

Then after lunch I did my online English class, and decided I was going to swap my health class. I didn't realise what an intensive, specialized course it was. It's child health and nutrition, which I'm not that interested in; it seemed to be geared towards people going into child development and things like that. I'm planning to major in Graphic Design, so...

Well, I hope I didn't bore you too much, especially with all these marvellous Downton Abbey posts going around, and I hope you all have a lovely day!

(P. S. Check out my Sink Me! Contribution!)

Harriet Smith and Robert Martin: One of the Most Underappreciated Couples Ever

Guys. I just watched Emma 2009 again and

Harriet Smith and Robert Martin!!!

Guys. Ladies. Readers.

Are they not the sweetest?

(There is a correct answer to that rhetorical question. The answer is yes, they are the sweetest.)

  

First of all, Robert Martin.

Do you get what a sweetheart he is?!?!?

I mean, we rave about Mr. Knightley and all that, (and don't get me wrong--I adore Mr. Knightley) but we don't give Robert Martin the credit he deserves. 

-He's incredibly loyal.

-He's honest.

-He's hardworking.

-He's a gentleman. He is! Despite all the nasty stuff Emma says, this is a fact.

-The letter:

"The style of the letter was much above her expectation. There were not merely no grammatical errors, but as a composition it would not have disgraced a gentleman; the language, though plain, was strong and unaffected, and the sentiments it conveyed very much to the credit of the writer. It was short, but expressed good sense, warm attachment, liberality, propriety, even delicacy of feeling."

-He is sincerely in love with Harriet, and he'd do anything for her.

-(And in the movie, I like his looks quite a bit. It doesn't really matter how handsome he is or isn't, because the smile on his face when he sees Harriet makes him very attractive.)

-Mr. Knightley thinks highly of him:

"Let her marry Robert Martin, and she is safe, respectable, and happy for ever"

"Robert Martin's manners have sense, sincerity, and good-humour to recommend them"

"He knows I have a thorough regard for him and all his family, and, I believe, considers me as one of his best friends." (Ahhhe-em. One of his best friends. Mr. Knightley's very good friend? He must be pretty great!)

"I never hear better sense from any one than Robert Martin. He always speaks to the purpose; open, straightforward, and very well judging."

-And then how disappointed poor Robert is after Harriet refuses him!

C'mere and let me give you a hug. Cry if you want; I don't mind.

Well, I think Robert Martin is a wonderful guy. 

And as far as Harriet, we know plenty about her, so it was Robert I wanted to focus on because he does not get nearly enough attention!

Now for a little scene from the book we don't get in the movie--How Robert Martin Proposed and Got Accepted At Last.

(Told by Mr. Knightley)

"It is a very simple story. He went to town on business three days ago, and I got him to take charge of some papers which I was wanting to send to John.—He delivered these papers to John, at his chambers, and was asked by him to join their party the same evening to Astley's. They were going to take the two eldest boys to Astley's. The party was to be our brother and sister, Henry, John—and Miss Smith. My friend Robert could not resist. They called for him in their way; were all extremely amused; and my brother asked him to dine with them the next day—which he did—and in the course of that visit (as I understand) he found an opportunity of speaking to Harriet; and certainly did not speak in vain.—She made him, by her acceptance, as happy even as he is deserving." (<==Yes. I agree with that.)

Now for some lovely pictures.

"Before the end of September, Emma attended Harriet to church, and saw her hand bestowed on Robert Martin with so complete a satisfaction, as no remembrances, even connected with Mr. Elton as he stood before them, could impair. ...Robert Martin and Harriet Smith, the latest couple engaged of the three, were the first to be married."

And then, like, the best scene of Harriet and Robert Martin in the movie.

Okay, okay, just watch that scene. It's from about 55:59-56:06 in Episode 4 of Emma (At least in this YouTube video.)

So, anyway, just wanted to remind you what a sweet couple Harriet and Robert are. I thought they deserved some attention.

New Header Game--Answers!

A few days ago I changed my header and made it a game to guess where each picture was from. Cordy and Naomi Sarah were the only participants, and...they both got all of them right! 80 points each! Here are the answers:

                                1.                        2.                       3.                         4.

                               5.                6.                             7.                          8.

1. Miss Gallindo-Cranford
2. Rilla Blythe-Rilla of Ingleside
3. Marianne Dashwood-Sense and Sensibility (2008)
4. Miss Taylor/Mrs. Weston-Emma (2009)
5. Me, in my Prom dress!
6. Elinor Dashwood-Sense and Sensibility (2008)
7. Kilmeny Gordon-Kilmeny of the Orchard
8. Emily Starr-Emily of New Moon

Excellent job, Cordy and Naomi! Seriously, you guys are good. :)

(Oh, and I have a question about blog backgrounds. All kinds of lovely blogs out there have these nice wallpaper-y backgrounds. How do you get those? I know you can put a "picture" as the background, so do you just download a pattern you like then use it? How do you do it? Thanks!)

"I Grew Up With" Tag!

Cordy is celebrating her birthday month with a perfectly sweet tag, the "I Grew Up With" tag! 

(Gorgeous button, by the way!)

Fortunately, I don't think these questions will be as hard as Cordy's questions usually are, because they deal more with facts than with favourites or "would you rather"s. :)

Shall we begin?

Book Characters I Grew Up With:

Jack and Annie (Magic Tree House)

Anne Shirley

I was such an avid reader (was? I still am!) it would be impossible to name all the book characters I grew up with, but these series are the main ones I remember.

Family Food I Grew Up With

Every Monday night for years we had "Taco Night." 

(Then we started taking turns making dinner, and the child that got assigned Monday night didn't want to do tacos most of the time.)

Lasagna has nearly always been our go-to "celebration" dinner, and a few years ago I learned how to make it myself and now that I am willing to make it, we have it a little more often. :)

My mom went to Italy for a year and a half when she was in her early 20's, and so pasta is a staple at our house; always has been and always will be.

TV Shows I Grew Up With:

Well, I didn't have a TV growing up, and we still don't. We read instead. But some movies I grew up with include:

Mary Poppins (I've lost count how many times I've seen this movie)

Faerie Tale Theatre movies, especially "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed"

Careers I Wanted While I Was Growing Up:

Teacher

Pretty much just a teacher, besides wanting to be a Mother, which has always been the main thing, but not exactly a career.

Hobbies or Lessons I Grew Up With:

I've pretty much always enjoyed cooking and baking. (I've not always been good at it, mind you!)

I've played the flute and piano for a few years.

And I've always enjoyed taking care of children (I have four younger siblings, plus a little girl we babysat regularly, and another little boy we babysit who is practically a brother).

Thanks for the fun tag, Cordy! 

UPDATE: Oh my goodness, I totally forgot to tag people! I promise this was an accident; I'm sorry! Does anyone want to do this? I'd be happy to tag you! :)

Now for a few random things to say:

-I got my wisdom teeth removed yesterday=not fun.

-I start my first semester of college ever in 10 days.

-I am reading the Harry Potter books for the first time.

-I am reading Little Dorrit, and wondering how good the movie is and which scenes to skip.

-Don't forget to vote on the poll over on the right!

-Have a lovely day!-

Golden Gang Blog Chain: When Will My Life Begin?

Kate of Majestic Golden Rose has started a blog chain and invited me to participate. I found it to be a lovely idea, and so here we are with her first prompt: 

"Please share a song (or two) and how you can relate."

Well, this was hard, and before I realised how hard it would be, I signed up to do it. So no backing out now just because of how hard it is!

I finally decided on this song, though, because boy, can I relate to it!

When Will My Life Begin? from Tangled

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, I'm with you. Okay, so I haven't been trapped in a tower my whole life, and no, I am not as talented as she is, but hey, I haven't seen hundreds of floating lanterns on my birthday either!

But really, I often wonder when my life will "begin." And actually, it's starting to, which is nice.

I'm just really looking forward to moving far away from my family and this teeny town and being on my own! That, in my opinion, is when my life will begin, and I can't wait!

(Note: of all the things Rapunzel does, there are only a few that I do regularly: chores, read books, cook, bake, sketch, sew dresses, brush (and brush and brush) my hair, and wonder when my life will begin.)

I hope you all have a lovely day!

New Header--Game

I have a new header, lovelies! Purple is the color this time. Purple has been my favourite colour for a long time, and I found plenty of lovely purple pictures to go in this header. I know, it's similar to the last one in style and content, and I promise I'll change it up someday. :)

                                1.                        2.                       3.                         4.

                               5.                6.                             7.                          8.

I thought I'd make a game out of it this time, though. So I've numbered the pictures, and you just have to guess where each picture came from/who it is! 

Each correct guess is worth 10 points. 

Good luck!

We have an email address!

Followers of mine, I am pleased to announce that I finally have acted on my intention to create an email address specifically for blogging purposes. 

You may have noticed the new gadget over on the right, towards the bottom (probably not; it's quite small. :)

Perhaps you'd like to know what this email address is. Well, I shall tell you presently:

raesdropofgoldensun@gmail.com.

(Hey, cool, the username that is the same as my blog url was open!)

My display name for this email is just Rae, same as on here. 

I reserve the right to spam any emails that come my way.

However, for most of you who read and comment on my blog, I wouldn't mind if you email me if you would happen to have a reason to want to, which I don't know why you would. :)

I mostly created this for the purpose of guest posts, because someone asked me if I'd be willing to do one and I didn't want to use my personal email. But if you want to contact me in a way besides my blog, then that's how!

Also, don't forget to vote on my poll on the right. I realise now that I had the idea of doing a themed week at the same time as, like, three other people, so if you think we have enough of them going on, then please click "neither one"! I am as inclined to agree with you if you click that as I am with any of the others! Also, if I do a themed week, it won't be for another...month or so, at least. :) Anyway, I'd love your input, so please vote!