The Year in Review and Looking Ahead.

Guys.
   Guys. 
   I haven't blogged in weeks. Weeks. I am so very, very sorry!!!! Life has been slightly insane over here, though, so I actually have a pretty good excuse, believe it or not! There was the holidays, and my grandpa was visiting, then my great-grandpa just passed away a few days ago and there's a lot of family and three of them are staying at our house and I am desperately trying to clean up my art-barf of a room before they get here, all without trying to pull my hair out and run around screaming at the chaotic unplanned-ness of it all.
   So yeah. Pr-etty psycho crazy.
   *Takes deep breath*
    But aside from all of that! I had a really great Christmas time! Like I said, my grandpa came to visit for the holiday, so that was totally awesome! He's hilarious. And also unnervingly like my father. And my brother.
   I got a digital art tablet for Christmas along with a 132 pack of Prismacolors, and I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!! I've had some technical difficulties getting a program to download on my computer for my tablet, but I think I'm starting to work out the kinks. :P
   We have had such a lovely winter up here! We've gotten about 3 feet of snow dumped down on us, and it's been awesome!!!! And absolutely gorgeous!!

Our Christmas tree was also very pretty. :) And I just really like this picture of this ornament, so what the heck.
   Dang, it is just so beautiful outside right now! These pictures don't even do everything justice....
   But this is only stuff from the last few weeks. This post is supposed to be about the whole year in review, hehheh. I promise to be as brief as I can! :P Thus the reason I will be dividing it into a few highlights.

The biggest highlight would probably be me starting and finishing my first draft. That, that was huge for me. But I've done a whole post dedicated to that, so yeah.

And this is followed closely by our trip to the ocean. I've done a whole series of posts dedicated to this, so I won't say much, but man. That was seriously the best week of my entire life so far.

Another highlight would be when I got one of my drawings published in a book!!!! The wonderful Jill Williamson hosted a contest for young readers such as myself, and I was one of the winners. You probably already know this if you follow me on Pinterest, but what you might not know is that I'm going to be doing a picture for her next two books! So I am pretty dang excited about that!!!!!!!

I also got baptized this year, and I started piano lessons back up, and I am now teaching three piano students. I crocheted a lot, some of my projects including a Hiccup and Toothless, Hiro and Baymax and a Mabel sweater. I turned sixteen, (which also means I can now wear makeup, muahhahhahaha!), I survived driver's ED, I also passed driver's ED, I got my first pair of Converse! I spent a lot of money on nerdy things, I bought book 12 of the HTTYD books (even though I still haven't read it, someone help me), I discovered the magical wonder of amazingness that is Gravity Falls, I utterly fell in love with BH6.
   Gosh, a lot of things happened!!!!!!! Honestly, 2015 was a great year, filled with ups and downs, but with more ups in my opinion. :) I feel like I'm forgetting something important, but oh well, if I remember it I'll share it.
   But yesh. Thus concludes my year in review. And now it is time for me to tell you all about some future plans, hehheh.

    The biggest one is that I have started editing my book. My golly-gosh, I read over my first chapter and I could have cried. I HAVE MY WORK CUT OUT FOR ME, PEOPLE!!!! Ugh.
   My goal is to have it "ready" to be published by the end of the year. Of course, that depends on a lot of things that I kind of don't have control over, but I just want to try my best to have it there.

    I'm also going to start an Etsy shop, this Friday!!! I'll be selling crochet things along with my art. There will be prints, there will be originals, there will be amigurumis, there will be clothes, it will be fun! :D It's called MagesticMakery, by the way. *Inserts shameless self promotion*

   And I am also planning on changing up the look of my blog sometime soon. So don't be too shocked if you click over here one day and everything has changed. :P

    I'd also like to go to ComicCon, the ocean, and Great Britain, but travelling is much expensive and I is young and haz little moneys. So I'll be putting those dreams on the back burner for a little while.

    And that truly concludes my long and winded update!! I hope I didn't bore you all to death, and that you've had a great Christmas as well, that your year was amazing, and that this one is even better!
    Have fun remembering to write 2016 instead of 2015!
 
MR

S'more Christmas Music!!!!

Hello again dearest readers!!!
   How's your week been? Mine's been quite good, thankfully. I have a recital coming up a week from today so I'm extremely nervous to the point of tears. But yeah, I'm cool.
   So. I was going to do a blog tag today, because I have two that I need to catch up on. I started writing it like, Wednesday, and I had a few of the questions answered and things like that. And I finished it up tonight. But I've had the tab minimized all week, and went I went to publish it it wouldn't let me, so I thought I'd save it and try again from a new tab.
   But apparently it didn't save.
   I had only three of the answered questions saved, and I... I just couldn't. So I'm giving you all some Christmas music instead!
    Actually, I've been compiling a list for this very purpose. And I've got some pretty good ones, if I do say so myself. Let me begin by saying that these aren't "traditional" Christmas songs. I covered most of my favorites in that genre last year. So I've got a few songs that are written my CCM artists that are just some of the greatest not-traditional Christmas songs I've ever heard....
   Let's begin.

1. "I Believe" by Natalie Grant

2. "The Night Before Christmas" by Brandon Heath

3. "Joseph's Lullaby" by Mercy Me

4. "How Many Kings" by Downhere

5. "One Child" by Natalie Grant

(I don't really get how the pictures in this video really go with the song, but I couldn't find a good video, and the song is amazing, so whatever. :P)

   I have, like, a lot more I could do, but then there would be at least ten songs and that's just too much for you guys. So, I'm going to stop here! 

   Hope you all enjoyed it, and that you have a very merry, wonderfilled, Christmas-y week!!!

MR

End

Merry Christmas, dearest readers!!!
   How are you all doing? I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a marvelous week! I certainly did. We got all of our Christmas decorations up and ready to go, and our house just looks so purty. :) I've got lights up in my room, and stockings, and a big red bow and a little Christmas tree. Agh. I'm just so happy!!!! Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year. :D
   But hark! I bring good news, good news indeed! Something that I am most excited about.

   Nearly one year ago, in January 2015, I finally started writing my book. You might even remember the blog post I had dedicated to it. On Thursday of this last week, I reached an even more monumental point in my journey as a writer.
   I finished the first draft of my book.
   The finished page count is 253. There are 34 chapters. And, minus chapter titles and the like, it has 167,488 words.
   Guys. I looked it up. The average maximum acceptable length of a first time fantasy novel is 115,000 words. Yeah, editing is going to be soooooo much fun, I can hardly wait! *Insert sarcasm here*
   I have a lot of work ahead of me still. I will, however, be taking the month of December off. This way I can get my mind to cool down a little, focus on this crochet order that I am desperately trying to finish before Christmas, write some short stories and enjoy the season in general! So starting January 2016, I'll get to work on editing.
   But until then....
   I don't want to stop writing entirely. There are at least 2 fanfics that I'd like to write during this time, and maybe a short story. So hopefully next week I'll have a fic for you. (Sneak peek: it'll either be one for Winnie the Pooh or one for BH6. What a shocker)
   Yeah, I'm excited about a lot of things at the moment, hehheh! One of which is the fact that I'll be turning 16 this month, which I actually find more than a little scary...
   Anywho. I'm not going to be ignoring Christmas in my blog posts, though. My fanfics might be Christmas themed, we'll see. Either way, there will be Christmas-y things included. For starters, I'll be including a Christmas song or two I like. Maybe a Christmas verse, or a Christmas memory of mine. And maybe, maybe, there might be a few bonus blog posts having to do with the season...
   So keep your eyes open for those. And I'd love to hear some of your guys' favorite parts of Christmas! So yeah, it'll be fun! :D
   Before I stop rambling and leave you all alone, I wanted to quickly share some of the things I've learned the last year in my writing adventure that really helped me to get through and write as much as I did. Hopefully, it might be able to help some of you all who are doing the same. :)

1. Write persistently and as much as you can stand. Then write a little more.
   This was an incredible game-changer for me. For about the first 9 months, I was writing nearly everyday, but only about 500 words. Now don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this. I was getting stuff done, but I wasn't really feeling what I was doing. I wasn't getting involved with my story. But for about the last 3 months, I started pushing myself to write 1,000, 2,000, sometimes even 3,000 words a day. And that helped me so much. Not to mention that I would have gotten my book done a lot sooner if I had done that from the beginning...

2. Find the time of day where you're most inspired.
    I feel most writerly in the evenings. Or late at night. Or in the wee hours of the morning. Obviously, this can be a bit of a problem, but it helped me get more done and to enjoy what I was doing a little more. And if you feel inspired at some other point in the day besides the time you set aside to write, you stop what you're doing and go write. 'Cause if you're feeling it, you gotta get it down or it's gonna be gone.

3. Stuck on what you're writing? Get up and move!
   Sometimes when something wasn't working out for me, I wold grab my outline and pace back and forth in my room. I'd quietly talk to myself about what I was doing, what wasn't working, what I wanted to happen in my story. And nearly every time, if not every time, I would figure something out. I got past some huge plot holes, added some huge things to my story. It helped me. A lot. 


Wow guys. I have so much more I feel like I could share. Not that I am BY ANY MEANS an expert, or even have the slightest clue of what I'm doing, but I feel like I've learned a lot by doing this. And man, it feels so good to be done! Wahoo!
   So yeah, I hope these few things could help someone out a bit. On one last note, I want to remind you to never give up. You might need to re-write that last 1,000 words you just slaved over for the last hour and a half or you might have to rethink some things. Whatever you do, don't. Give. Up. And that's an order.
   To start the Christmas season off, I'm going to share this song with you all. It's "Christmas Is" by Francesca Battestelli, and it is a great one to get you in the Christmas spirit! Hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful week!

MR
 

 

Christmas Poems

   Poetry! I love it! Love it so much that I actually write some in my spare time. I also happen to love Christmas! It is the most wonderful time of the year, after all. :) So, why not put the two together and make some Christmas poetry? I don't see any reason against it!

"Light of the World" by Mark Missman

   This first poem is called "The Reason Why". I actually got the inspiration for it in Christmas season of 2012, but after chewing on it and trying to write it down once, it just wasn't working out how I had planned. So I gave up until Christmas of 2013. Which after about 2 more tries, I got it right. Or at least, that's how I felt at the time. Now I'm not so sure... Nonetheless, here it is!

   The Reason Why 

   By Maggie Rice

   A still and peaceful silent night,

   Fingerprinted stars above,

   A light shone down on Bethlehem,

   And God gave to us His love.

The world lay sleeping, unaware,

Of the holy, precious gift,

The Thread God sent to mend anew

The tattered, blackened rift.

The prayers of millions of souls

Were answered on that night,

When God sent to the Darkness,

The searching, saving Light.

Hymns of praise were sung abroad,

And reverent men fell down,

At the feet of baby Jesus,

Whose glory shone around.

Two-thousand years have come and gone,

And still men worship there,

Giving their all to the Holy One,

And casting aside their care. 

Never forget the little manger,

Where Jesus Christ was born.

Never forget the Reason why,

We celebrate on Christmas morn. 

   And the second one,"Sleeping On". This is one that I wrote this year, and no one but myself has laid eyes on it as of yet. You, reader, whoever you might be, are the first person outside of, well, me, to read it. Not that it's some deeply moving powerful thing that I was saving for the perfect time to reveal. I just haven't gotten around to showing it to anyone yet. 

Sleeping On

By Maggie Rice

For millenia we've waited,

Looking forward to the King,

The promise of the virgin birth,

The salvation it would bring.

A scarlet thread through history,

A blood-lined Roman's Road,

Into the womb of Mary,

This seed of love was sown.

Our expected King was but a child,

A tiny babe in manger lay,

Great conqueror, our salvation,

Quietly sleeping in the hay.

The snow white Lamb, the Sacrifice,

Slept with sheep and ox that night,

The Lord of all, Redeemer,

Was warmed by a lantern's feeble light.

How lowly, oh how humble!

Was the Messiah's birth!

The waiting world lay sleeping on,

Unaware he'd come to earth. 

   There you have it! Two Christmas poems for your reading pleasure! Or, just your reading. Pleasure is optional. 

   Anyhoo, I hoped you enjoyed them, and that they helped to remind you what Christmas is really about. I know it's hard to remember sometimes with all of the beautiful Christmas things to distract us. But try to remember why we celebrate this wonderful holiday. Take a minute to think about what Christmas really means, in general, and personally in your life. Is it just another holiday, or is it the birthday of Jesus Christ, the Son of God? What does it mean to you?

   And can you believe that it's almost here? Just three more days! Wowzers! Where does time go? But, I sincerely hope that you get to spend some time with your loved ones, and that the season was beautiful, and that your Christmas is too! Have a very merry Christmas everyone! 

MR

P.S. For those of you who have seen the latest Hobbit movie, I am going to be posting a little something about the things I liked and didn't like about it sometime after Christmas and before January. Though, 'little' is probably not the most accurate word to use. A big something is closer to the mark...  

 

Favorite Christmas Traditions

   Merry Christmas once again!
   Well, I'm here to talk about my five favorite Christmas traditions, as promised! Let's get started, shall we?


1. Christmas Eve Service

Every year, my church has the most amazing Christmas Eve service. There's beautiful Christmas music, the Christmas story is read, and at the end we all light candles and sing a Christmas hymn together.  The very atmosphere just gives you chills. It's solemn and reverent, but joyful and happy at the same time. Honestly, you'd have to be there to really understand what it's like, but there is a reason it is my favorite Christmas tradition.






2. Twelve Days of Christmas

This is something my mom found a few years ago, and we've done it ever since. So basically, you choose a family you know, whether it be someone going through hard times, someone in need, or just for fun, and you give them these little gifts. We usually start on the thirteenth and give them their last gift on Christmas Eve. Every day is a different gift, with a fun little poem to go with it. At the end, you're supposed to reveal who you are, but we like to keep it a secret. So shh!! Don't tell anyone! ;)

3. Reading the Christmas Story

I really enjoy personally reading the Christmas story. I usually start about a week before and go through the main points up until Christmas day. But this year, I found a really cool schedule that spreads it out from the first 'til the twenty-fifth! Some of the daily readings are only two or three verses, but others are longer.
   <--- Here's the schedule if you wanna check it out. :)
   And here's my shorter schedule, just for fun!

1. Luke 1:26-38
2. Luke 1:39-56
3. Luke 1:57-80
4. Luke 2:1-7
5. Luke 2:8-20
6. Luke 2:21-40
7. Matthew 1:18-25
8. Matthew 2 
















4. Opening a Present on Christmas Eve

Who doesn't enjoy opening a present early? I certainly do! Our parents usually have us open a game or something to help keep us entertained during the long hours of waiting on Christmas Eve. It does help! Especially last year, since one of the games we happened to get was Dutch Blitz. As a side note, if you've never played this game before, you need to. It is the funnest game ever. But anyway, yeah, we like to open a present early! :)



5. Prime Rib

So, this is our traditional Christmas Eve meal. Much better than your average turkey, or goose, or what have you. Our whole family looks forward to this treat every year! Yum!

Ooooo!!! Just LOOK at it! My mouth is watering already.... 

   So concludes my favorite Christmas traditions! I do hope you enjoyed them, though I've probably made you hungry for some prime rib. :) Do you share any traditions with me? Have some of your own you would like to add? Feel free to comment! I love hearing from the brave few who look at this blog.

   I'm not sure what I should do next week, which also happens to be the last week of this little Christmas series. Can you believe that we only have nine days until Christmas? Where does the time go??? But, I'm thinking I might post one of my Christmas poems. Anyone have any other ideas?  

   Well, I must bid you all adieu! Have a great day, and Merry Christmas! 

                         MR

Note: Non of these images are mine! They belong to various talented photographers on the internet. :) 

Favorite Christmas Movies

   Merry Christmas readers!!
   I'm back, just like I said I would be! Wow! Hopefully I can make a habit of this. :)
   Another thing that really helps to get me in the Christmas spirit is watching Christmas movies. There are all kinds of them! Ones about Jesus, ones about Santa, humorous movies, heart touching movies, and ones with a little bit of everything! But, all of the ones on my list are all more on the heart-touching side. Or, at least heart-warming. :) Though I love plenty of funny Christmas movies, my top five favorites happen to not include any of them. Guess I'm more of a 'Drama' genre kind of girl. Hmm...
   Anyway, here's the list!


1. It's a Wonderful Life

   Okay, so this is seriously the greatest Christmas movie of all time EVER!  If you haven't seen this, stop reading this and GO AND WATCH IT! It always touches my heart and gets me ready for Christmas. I look forward to watching it all year long! 

2. The Polar Express

  Another one that if you haven't seen you need to go watch right now!! Something about this movie just gets to me every time I watch it. It is so beautiful! 

3. The Nativity Story

   An amazing story of Jesus' birth and the events leading up to it! 

4. It's a Meaningful Life

The two main reasons I love this movie would be because 1.It's a spin-off of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 2.It's VeggieTales. Enough said. 

5. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

   This movie is just so sweet! It never ceases to bring a smile to my face and, since I am an emotional sop, tears to my eyes. :) 

Well, those are my favorite Christmas movies! Do you share any favorites with me? What's one of your favorites? Feel free to tell me! Tune in next Monday to hear my top five favorite Christmas traditions! 

Merry Christmas again everyone!

MR

Christmas Music!

   Hark, dear readers! I hear the sound of sleigh bells jingling down the hill! The air is ripe with the smell of cocoa and cinnamon and cookies! I see the colors of red, green, gold, and silver everywhere I look! That can only mean one thing... Christmas is FINALLY here!!!

   Ah yes, the most wonderful time of the year is upon us at long last! Decorations are going up, trees are selling and the joyous sound of Christmas music fills the air. Which brings us to the subject of this post. Christmas music, one of my most favorite parts of the season. The old Christmas hymns have such deep, powerful lyrics that vividly describe Christ's birth and the events surrounding it. A lot of the newer Christmas song help to reawaken our Christmas spirit and remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. Just listening to them sends a thrill of joy through me! So, I thought I'd take the time to share with you five of my favorite Christmas songs, to help light up your Christmas spirit! 

   

1. Oh Holy Night!

This is my number one favorite Christmas song! It is sung by Josh Groban, and written by Adolphe-Charles Adam and Placide Cappeau. 

2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Such a beautiful song that captures the longing of Israel for their Saviour! I have always loved this one! It was written by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin. This particular version is sung by Bebo Norman. 

3. Just a Girl

This song always brings tears to my eye!. It is the touching story of how the innkeeper denied Mary and Joseph a place to stay, and his realization of what he had done. The song is written and sang by Brandon Heath.

4. Believe

   I have always loved The Polar Express, and this song is one of the reasons why! It is beautiful, and never ceases to get me in the Christmas spirit! It is sung and written by Josh Groban. 

5. Where Are You Christmas?

   Another song I love! It is sung by Faith Hill and written by Mariah Carey, James Horner, and Will Jennings. 

6. Peppermint Winter

 

  BOOM!! Surprise sixth song! :D I had to share this because it is Owl City, and it is awesome! Enjoy! This was written and sung by Owl City (<3).

   I hope you enjoyed this little marathon of Christmas musics, and that they helped to get you into the Christmas spirit! Check in next week to see a list of my five favorite Christmas movies! 

Merry Christmas, dear reader! 

MR

Disclaimer: I own neither these songs or these videos. And I just googled the singers and songwriters, so please feel free to correct me if my information is wrong. :)