Back in 2015, I posted about my favorite YouTube videos. Some of the videos don't work, and I don't think they are an honest reflection of me anymore (it has been 11 years). I am just going to say these are a little embarrassing, but this is Frivolous Fridays, so things are happening.
21. Submitted by my aunt: "Have you ever daydreamed about moving to Kansas?"
Sorry, I can't say that I have. Okay, maybe when I was a kid, and my cousin and I would play dress up and act out stories together — maybe then. In high school, I dreamt of becoming a writer in New York City, but I fell in love with Boston instead. And for a while, I dreamt about working at the Library of Congress, because the main building is so beautiful. But dreams have shifted. I am now fulfilling my dream of being used in God's kingdom, working with immigrants and refugees, and fulfilling a heart's desire to love on kids so they know they are loved — not only by me, but by God.
22. Submitted by my cousin: "Did you know about PLI before you moved to Houston?"
Simple answer: "No."
Long answer: I moved to Houston to be closer to my family. I loved Boston, but every time I visited my sister and her family, it was getting harder to get back on the plane and leave them (my niece and nephews have me wrapped around their little fingers — and they know it). Also, at the time, I had a roommate who was taking amazing trips by herself and with her best friend, and I was getting a little envious — okay, a lot envious — because she lived so close to family that she spent her vacation time and money traveling. And I would love to travel.* So I moved to Houston.
The kids and I, the fall after I moved here
In the winter/early spring of 2020 (before the world fell apart), I joined a Bible study focused on sharing your faith — something I really struggle with. I had done some campus ministry in college, but most of my grad school and adult years were spent with people simply knowing I was a Christian and hoping that if they had questions, they would ask. I especially struggle to share my faith with those closest to me without getting on a soapbox, so I felt convicted to join. Through that Bible study, I heard about the nations in Houston. Did you know Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America?"Houston is the 2nd most diverse major American city in 2025"
After the Bible study ended, one of the group's leaders and I went for a walk. She was trying to pull me into another Bible study, gearing people up for overseas missions. I couldn't imagine doing that. 1) In my head, I thought overseas missions were for the "Super Christians." 2) I didn't have a specific people group my heart yearned to reach — I had a heart for children and vulnerable populations, but I hadn't found a people group I wanted to invest in. 3) And probably most importantly at the time: I had just moved to Houston to be close to my family. I told her as much, so she pivoted and told me about PLI. After about the third mention, I had to stop her and ask what those letters stood for — Prestige Learning Institute.
It was COVID, and I wasn't quite ready to leave my house, but by January 2021, I was done with my life being just working from home, going for walks, and watching TV. I needed to do something. I looked up PLI again, applied to volunteer, and got completely sucked into the After-School Program 😃.
When the world opened up a little more, I started looking for full-time work — but I didn't want a full-time job that would take me away from the kids I had come to love. Around that time, one of the women I'd connected with noticed that PLI had an admin position open. I applied, and my now-friend in HR pointed me toward a communications position in development — but it required support raising. As an introvert who wrestles with insecurity, that gave me serious pause. I brought it up with my therapist, and she asked, "Would you do it if it wasn't for the support raising?" I said yes. And I think that was my answer. So I applied — and that's what brought me to PLI. I'm sure there are more details I'm leaving out.
*If I could do anything (other than what I'm doing right now), I would turn this blog into a travel/Bible study/lifestyle blog and somehow make enough money from it to live, save, and get by. Not that money is a driving factor — but enough is enough.
23. If I had a superpower, it would be: teleporting or speaking any language.
24. TV series I have watched all the way through more than once: Gilmore Girls, MASH, The West Wing,Ugly Betty, Downton Abbey, The Office, Parks & Rec, Crash Landing on You.
I hope you are all (who ever you are) are having a good week and are excited for the up coming weekend... I am, my mom is town and we are going to be enjoying some pampering, also doing a little bit of shopping and just enjoying some mom and daughter time. But before the weekend begins I just wanted to give you all a quick update on my life...
I tried readingRebecca by Daphne Du Maurier as it was recommend to me by my friend and while I was intrigued by the story I didn't get past 100 pages. One night I was reading in bed and the book Me Before You was sitting on my book shelf and I kept thinking I want to read that instead. So I began reading it. I will also admit while I have wanted to read this book for a while and when I saw the ad for the upcoming movie I was more intrigued... plus I love Sam Claffin (aka Finnick).
Re-watching trailer I think I am going to need tissues... Yep I am a sap.
Writing
I think I am two or three plot points away from being done, which feels very weird and cool all at the same time. Currently I am trying to type up every thing I have written out in order to get my mind settled on how I want to finish the story. I have it outlined and I know how I want to end in my head putting words on paper feels hard. But as I have been reminded I have to keep pushing myself.
I have been thinking more and more about preparing for my second draft and sharing my work. I know this goes against some advice but I am thinking of sharing the story through a blog format. I am not so concerned about being published or the money, and to me that sounds like a headache. For me it is more important to share my story with my friends and family and anyone else who reads this blog. But I am still thinking through this process.
For now I just have to finish the first draft.
Thinking about
Even though I am working on the first draft of my story my brain can't help but wander to my next story.
A couple of months ago I thought of a story line where a modern day girl finds a journal from the past only to find out that it is hers. Then a few weeks later I quickly jotted down this scene...
He was perched on the bench ready to jump into action, clasping the edge of the seat to make sure he didn't fall off. He eagerly awaited her to arrive on the incoming train.
Later I saw a man sitting on the T wearing a tweed jacket and sweater vest and the name Crispin came to meand wrote this out...
Crispin was wearing his best forest green collar button up with it nearly matching green tie, wool sweater vest with a red and gold diamond pattern, and his tweed jacket that had patches on the elbow. He loved that jacket, it had been his fathers and still smelled of his father's pipe tobacco. Crispin thought if gave him a scholarly look, and when her wore it he stood a bit taller. He been in the library shuffling through papers looking for some some notes on the archaeology diggings in Pakistan. His uncle had referred to it the other day and Crispin was certain his uncle had misquoted the author, however scholarly his uncle pretended to be he was always misquoting someone. Crispin had made it a game to look up the quotes to discreetly and politely correct him. He was shuffling through some papers when he caught out of the corner of his eye a movement in the garden. No one besides the gardener went out there after Aunt Edith passed away and even out of the corner of his eye he recognized this was not Marion, the crotchety old gardener, who was only kept on in respect of Aunt Edith. This movement was a woman who clearly did not want to be noticed. Crispin slammed the files shut and marched to the garden, he wasn't sure if was more curious by the woman's movement in the garden or angry someone would intrude on them. There had been tales of ghostly figures on the property and youngsters had mad it their mission to hunt these out and these escapades had happened more since Aunt Edith's death but never in the day time. Crispin was happy to finally be able to have his say in the matter once he captured the intruder.
I am greatly enjoying watching the last season of Downton Abbey and I am interested in seeing how it will all end. During the first season of Downton I didn't care for Edith at all but over time she has grown on me, she sometimes whines too much, I feel she is becoming more empowered. Now if only Mary could stop picking on her I would be happy. In this season I am feeling more sorry for Thomas or Mr. Barrows but I think if he had just been nicer earlier on more people would be rooting for him, but I do want him to be successful at the end of the series.
I do want Mary to be happy but I honestly don't understand why they made Henry a race car driver of course this was going to be a hang up for Mary after Matthew's death. I am actually surprised how long she has pursued him because of it... but I guess sometimes love is a risk. I think Branson was very wise (as he has always been) in the last episode.
Also I have been binge re-watching Hart of Dixie, which I enjoyed the second time as much as I enjoyed the first time and knowing what was going I enjoyed watching the character development more. I will say right now I wish Lavon and AnnaBeth had ended up together as I thought they were perfect together.
Plus she was good friend to both Lemon and Zoe even though they hated each other. Plus her fashion (minus some green eye shadow) was better than Lemon's... I know this shouldn't be the reason why she should be with Lavon but its true.
I hope this New Years is finding you well... I know its only been six days but if you are like me you are still writing 2015 and then doing your best to make the 5 look like a 6. A few of my last post have been about movies, books, and favorite Christmas songs so I thought it was time for a little update on my life.
Cherishing
I know Christmas is behind us but I am still replaying the moments I had with my family...
A morning selfie of my nephew and I (he loves me even if it doesn't look like he does in this picture)
... he is showing signs of having red hair so I call him "little ginger man"
This is us at the park... notice the short sleeves, yeah Christmas in Houston is hot and humid
Playing with my niece and nephew... they invented the game "Squish Attack Aunt Blaire"
Helping my "little ginger man" open his first Christmas gift from me... Yep its a book
Books was unintentionally my theme for gifts
So even though the weather did not feel like Christmas with the family and the kids it was very Christmas-y
Speaking of books...
Reading
I am currently re-reading Mansfield Park and it quickly topping my list of favorite Jane Austen novels. Emma and Sense and Sensibility are at the top of my list but this one is joining the ranks. It is not the typical Austen novel because Fanny Price is not like her other heroines who speak their minds or stand up for themselves... no Fanny spends most of the time sitting around and thinking about the people around her, she is also often ignored by her family, and she seems okay with this because she doesn't want attention. The very first time I read this I couldn't finish it because she was so quiet and so mousy that I couldn't stand Fanny Price... now with age I have begun to love her.
If you are looking for a modern update of Mansfield Park I recommend the YouTube Series "From Mansfield with Love" (link to channel)
Here is a short trailer:
It is told as a video letter from Franks (Fanny) Price to her brother who is in the navy (or something like that) and she is recording her life for him. Thus far I have enjoyed these YouTube series updates on classic literature... so good job media specialist on keeping us in love with classic stories.
Writing
With my progress in NaNoWriMo (I got to 35,000 words) I was able to finish the first part of my story and made a good start on part 2... so I am eagerly making progress on it. After November, I didn't get much writing done, and while I was away for Christmas I didn't get any writing done (I did do some minimal editing on the plane rides). That's okay, as my friend reminds me I am doing this for myself... and while I would one day love to be published I am not on any deadline. Though I do have the goal of finishing the rough draft this story and get to the editing process. Though sometimes after writing a scene I think "Oh this would be much better someplace else" so my outline has gotten a bit of editing to it... and I think I might have to go back and re-write some scenes. Oh well... I love this process and enjoying the moments.
My friend and I went to go see Star Wars ep. 7 on New Year's day and then I watched the Sherlock "The Abominable Bride" episode. I don't want to give away any spoilers on either one of these things but I thought both were great... obviously for different reasons.
I think this song is actually quite fitting for their relationship and as the cover is sung by man, I think it tells the story from Jess's perspective.
I am eagerly awaiting for the release of the Netflix reunion episodes that last time I checked were to begin being filmed this year. YEAH!
I am so happy to announce that in my current work in progress I am a few pages of typing up my story to be done with the first draft of part one. YEAH!!! It feels so exciting and weird all at the same time. I love sharing my scenes with you guys (well who ever reads it) and other things that inspire me. Today I wanted to share music that keeps me inspired.
Last week I finished the book Goodbye Piccadilly by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. I have read a few books of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles in her "Morland Dynasty" series which range from the Renaissance to the 1920s time period, so you can find a time period you can enjoy. You will probably not be surprised but I like the books set in the Edwardian Period to the 1920s... so I was intrigued when I saw she is writing a series just about World War I.
The story is mostly set around the Hunter family... who are middle class with the husband working as a banker and the wife stays at home to mind the household and servants. The story starts off a little slow and what is happening in mainland Europe is just in the back ground. My main criticism of the story is that their are a lot of characters. While there are the Hunters and their 5 maybe 6 kids, there is also their servants, Mr. Hunter's sister and her own plot line. I am hoping as this is a series that we will get to see all these characters plots unfold and it won't be fruitless to keep track of their stories.
The two characters I was most interested in were the Hunter daughters Diana and Sadie. Diana is casted as the beauty of the village who has lots of suitors but her focus is on Charles Wroughton, who is the oldest son of the Earl. While Charles is in good position in society he is not the most social person mostly because of nerves and fear of not knowing what to say. So when he catches Diana's eyes he is actually intrigues that this beautiful girl is attracted to him. Of course his family thinks she is just a fortune hunter... and while that might be a bit true she is honestly interested in him.
The next daughter Sadie, is sixteen and loves horse and actually doesn't want to be out in society for her only destiny to be marriage. She gets a position (most likely volunteer) to help ride horses in order to get them ready for soldiers and begins a crush on the veterinarian. I hope in the other books she will be able to develop and do real war work.
I also hope in the other books they will develop David, the oldest son of the Hunters, who enlisted in the army a few days after the war.
Outside of the Hunter family is the Hunter family servants. Ethel the young housemaid seems a little arrogant and full of herself... she kind of reminded me of the Ethel character in Downton Abbey, I hope she won't suffer the same fate.
I will be honest this book was not that thick (only 392 pages) but it did take me a bit to get through it... I don't think it was honestly the books fault. I love the history this book included it provided me valuable insights into English society at the beginning of WWI. For example: Charles Wroughton is not allowed to write to Diana herself, he has to write to her mother. I mean that definitely doesn't allow for much romance. Also it gave good information on dates and other historical background like the Irish wanting Home Rule and some suffragette information. I personally love these details as they inspired my own writing so I was happy to read them but I don't think the casual reader would care for them.
As the story was about the the same period that I am currently writing about I found the story inspiring and I think I spent some of my usual commute time reading to write out scenes. Also after falling in love with Susanna Kearsley this summer I would love to find an author who wrote WWI novels in her style. Do you have any suggestions?
As I said there are other books, I think only one other is out set in 1915 called Keep the Home Fire Burning but the library doesn't have it yet... so I will keep waiting to see what happens next.
Overall: I liked the story, but I could do with less characters and I don't know if the casual reader would enjoy a lot of the historical content... however I think it proves that Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has truly done her work and keeps it based in reality.
I have become addicted to Poldark on PBS. I am the first one to admit that I have bias towards British Period Dramas... I think it very clear if you spend any time with me either on this blog or in real life. But usually my heart tends to be focused on the 19th or early 20th century. So when I heard about Poldark, which is set in the 18th century I was a little skeptical if I would like it. Well suffice I have fallen hard for it.
The story is premise of the story is simple. Ross Poldark (Adrian Turner), served as a British solider in the American Revolution and is injured in such a way that he is believed dead. He returns two years later to England only to discover his father is dead, the mine his father owned is in ruins and the woman he loved is engaged to his cousin. Now he must make a new life for himself and restore his families business. Enter Demelza played by Eleanor Tomilson who changes Ross from an angry bitter man to one of compassion.... and yes there is great chemistry and tension between them. I don't want to give spoilers away. Though I don't think I would be the first one to say that Poldark is the Downton Abbey of the 18th century.
Overall: I would say the story is great and there are many moments I am holding my breath, but like I said I can easily get lost in Period Dramas. However, it is not just beautiful costumes with hopeless dramatic plots because to be honest the costumes are kind of basic (which is fitting for the story). The story is really about struggle because Ross and Demelza are trying to make the world a better place but they are held back by constrictions in society around them. Also some people don't like Ross and try to ruin him in business and personally. And I like that Ross is not only trying to raise himself up but also trying to help the men and women out around him. I really like that. Also the beauty of scenery is wonderful and helps you get swept up in the story line, the beauty and the struggle of it all.
It has been awhile since I posted a #littleloves post. I feel I need some lightheartedness in my life right now. Hope you enjoy...
Reading
At the end of June my friends had a Yankee Swap style book exchange. What that means is we wrapped up a copy of one of our favorite books and write the genre on the front. Without knowing really anything about the book we picked which book we wanted with Yankee Swap rules of being able to steal. Previously, my friend recommended this book as a part of my 26 Book Challenge.
It is about an author Carrie McClelland, who is an author as she is writing her next novel. Her novel is set in 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeed in landing the exile James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. But when Carrie discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth (for more).
I don't know much about this era in history so it has been fun to read and I will admit that I have looked into more on Wikipedia. Besides the history I have enjoyed about Carrie, and as she is an author it has been great to hear how she goes through the writing process.
Working on
This blog as been really good for me. For most of my writing life I have been very secret about my writing life. I have always seen my writing as very personal because it was my truest way I could escape from whatever I was going through and live a completely different life and I didn't want people to know about me. Then one day someone joked and said "if you don't let someone read your writing how you ever going to be published." I guess they had a point but it took me a few years more till I got this blog. I think this blog and other forces have inspired to share more about my writing. I do share parts of my story here but I am also trying to mention it in my daily conversation. This has been a big struggle because I how personal I view my writing. And yeah it has been easier to share my writing here on this blog...where I am not sure who is reading it then to actually talk about in real life (that might sound backwards).
As I have written about I am not much of a photographer, but I would like to be better at capturing moments so I have set up an Instagram account. Right now I am just trying to understand it. And yes I have already posted a pic of my cat...
Watching
Thanks to Netflix I have been going back and re-watching The Office when it was first on, I was kind of a fair weathered fan, meaning I didn't watch it that much after Jim and Pam got married. I tried watching most of the last season but I don't think I was even successfulat that. So I am enjoining re-watching all the cute Jim and Pam moments.
In working on my story I have been trying to get in the mindset of my characters, which is sometimes hard for me to do as my story is set during WWI and I live in a world of computers, the internet, Pinterest, YouTube and all other matters of distraction. So one thing I have done is track down albums (thanks to Spotify) to listen to music from WWI. The song "If you were the Only Girl in the World" is probably the most popular now thanks to Downton Abbey but it is amazing what other songs I have found. I have also tried to find movie sound tracks that are set in that era and sometimes I hear a song and I feel it speaks about my characters I have added those songs to my writing playlist. It has made an interesting and fun playlist.
Here is one of my current favorites: "Distance" by Christina Perri featuring Mary and Matthew
I love to dwell in historical fiction in most everything in my reading, the TV shows and movies I watch, and my own personal writing. I am personally still a romantic about history and probably idealize it too much even though I studied history I know it is not clean cut and glamorous as I wished it was. One time I hear a quote "we study the past to know how we got here" (sorry paraphrasing so might be a misquote) and I think it is accurate. I like studying the past to know the struggles, the battles and the times of glory and hope people went through to get where we are now. Even though the stories I read are set in the past, if the book is written well, I feel I can relate to them and I wonder what I would do if I was in that circumstance?-- I know you can do this with really any genre of literature but there is something about historical fiction in that pulls me in.
I think I owe my love to early 20th century upon seeing Biltmore.
For my own writing there is a comfort in knowing the outcome. For example: In my story I am currently writing it is about WWI and I know what happens and I know who is going to win the War. But then there is this weird comfort in not controlling the outcome. I know what is going to happen in the grand scheme of things and I just put my characters in those events and seeing what happens to them and how they are changed by their circumstances.
My love of WWI might be owed to Downton Abbey
As I stated I am currently working on a story that will go through WWI. And while I studied early 20th century history in school I know vague details about WWI. I have read various novels, biographies and other non-fiction books and I sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I am learning. I felt so overwhelmed I thought "maybe I should put this story aside while I research." But then I thought "I am never going to know enough to be completely accurate." This is true of all historians... we take the sources we have and as best we can we put a narrative. However, the thing about history is that unless we build a time machine we will never get the full story, which give historians and writers some freedom. So when I saw this post on Pinterest I was highly intrigued:
And I felt it was okay for me not to know everything about WWI, that doesn't mean I can't attempt to write a fabulous story. So I will keep pressing on through my first draft. If I find out anything interesting I will keep you updated.
As I am on vacation I will be posting while away but I didn't want to miss my "Frivolous Friday" post. I am trying to get better about setting a schedule for blogging and I like alliterations so I have made Friday my frivolous day to post whatever.When I get back from vacation I will announce other days that are in the works.
For today my post is my favorite YouTube videos... In undergrad I never spent on YouTube so I was months behind on knowing about "Double Rainbow" and I actually thought it was a big waste of time, but now I am addict. "Hello my name is Blaire and I am addicted to fan made videos." Here are some of my favorites...
Title: Katniss & Peeta|| Say something I am giving up on you
Song: Say Something by Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera Link
This is one of my favorite songs so I look out for fan videos with it being used- love that it is being used with one of my favorite fandoms.
There are more that I could share but I think 6 is enough, though it barely scratches the surface of my fangirlness
