Silver Lining Sundays: An Augustus Waters Fetish

I've decided that I'd like to turn Silver Lining Sundays into a monthly meme here at Perfectly Sensible Nonsense, so here's how it will work: On the first Sunday of each month, I'll write a post listing some of the good things that have been happening to me recently - the recent silver linings in my life. You never know what you'll find in my post - it could be anything that makes me laugh, smile or just plain happy. The only thing you won't find is negativity! At the end of each of these posts will be a link-up widget that will stay open for the remainder of the month, so if you'd like to write your own post of silver linings, you can feel free to share a link to your post with the rest of us.

So, without further introduction and in no particular order, here are my silver linings this Sunday.

1. Sleeping out in the camper.

Lately - at least on the nights it doesn't drop below freezing! - Mom, the girls and I have been spending the night camping out in the pop-up in the backyard. We've got piles of blankets, sweaters and cold noses, but it's just oh so cozy outside that we can't resist! Already we've been hearing all the wildlife after dark - peepers, owls, turkeys, and even coyotes. It's such a great way to spend the night!

2. Exploding Easter Eggs

I realized I never told you how my Easter went, and since it went by with a literal bang (well, more of a pop, really) I suppose I should fill you in. I practically guarantee you'll laugh!

So, if you've been following my blog(s) for at least a month you may recognize the eggs pictured above. Around Easter for several years now, my aunt will have me and my sisters either spend the day or sleep over before Easter, and we decorate eggs. Only...we don't just dye eggs like normal people. Oh, no! We prefer to get a bit more creative with our creations (often, fittingly, to a soundtrack of Lady GaGa). Steph hauls out the craft supplies, and we go all out. As you can see, I even created a Death egg with a scythe and cape and horns! And I'm not the only one who goes crazy with the craft supplies.

All of the eggs me, my sisters, my cousins and my aunt made! (Check out more egg photos at my sister's blog here.)

Usually, we just hold onto the eggs for a little while, then toss them when we're through displaying them. But not this year. This year, my grampa had an Easter party at his house - the whole family gathered for kite-flying, gift bags, laughs and fun. And all of those eggs showed up at the party. Most of them were raw, because when Steph had tried to hard boil them a whole bunch had cracked. So, with the BB gun Grampa got my cousin Payne for his birthday the month before, we used those lovely, raw, decorated eggs...for target practice!

Didn't Jordan do a great job on the video?

I'm not a violent person, but sometimes there's just something satisfying about seeing eggs explode. We kind of gave "Easter Egg Hunts" a whole new meaning. And I killed Death! Ours was not a typical Easter celebration, that's for sure!

3. Regina Spektor's new CD.

It's called What We Saw From the Cheap Seats and it will be available May 29th. I'm so excited! Regina Spektor is one of my all-time favorite music artists, and I can't wait to get my hands on this CD. Here are two tracks from the CD for you to listen to while you read the rest of my post - "Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)" and "All The Rowboats". I love them both and can't wait to own the whole album!

4. Kayaking

Here's me, out kayaking! Like my (rather) new pixie cut?

I've been out on the water several times already this year, but last weekend was the funnest! Grampa and I, Connecticut's own Lewis and Clark, conquered the mighty Missouri and found a safe water passage to the sea!

Well, almost. We weren't actually explorers, and the river wasn't actually the Missouri. And it didn't empty into the Pacific, either, or even the Atlantic. But it was my first time kayaking this particular route, and the river did empty into a wide lake! Thankfully, the gale-force wind was at our back and we made it to shore mostly dry and in one piece. (And when I say gale-force, I mean gale-force. There were white caps on the lake, and while the trip in its entirety usually takes about two and a half hours, we were blown to shore so fast a whole half-hour got shaved off our adventure! Plus, once we got to shore, I could hardly hear Grampa talking over the wind. It was extreme! But a lovely trip.)

Everything is turning green!

Cataloged species: Mallard ducks, great blue herons, a frog, a painted turtle, a yellow swallowtail butterfly and an unidentified snake. All in all, a rather successful trip!

5. Owning The Fault in Our Stars.

That's right! With my April allowance, I decided to purchase The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, a novel that's been on my radar for months. Through the library, I've read all four of John Green's previous novels - Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (which was coauthored by David Levithan). And wow, wow, wow! John Green has become a favorite author of mine, and I'm so proud to be a Nerdfighter. I especially loved Paper Towns and Will Grayson, Will Grayson; so much, in fact, that their awesomeness pushed me to purchase The Fault in Our Stars.

Everyone seems to agree that this is John Green's best novel yet - and by everyone, I mean everyone. Nerdfigthers, bloggy friends, bestselling authors, you name it! And I can tell you that, after reading it myself, I have to agree. The Fault in Our Stars was a truly amazing read! I've got a Recommended Read post ready for Thursday, and I'm not quite sure how I did it, because on the subject of this book, "My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations." But to give you an idea of what I thought of it, that evening instead of working on my novel like I should have been, I went on Pinterest and spent too much time pinning TFiOS references to my DFTBA board and tearing up. Screw Prince Charming - I want my very own Augustus Waters, thank you VERY much! I totally agree with Jessica: Augustus Waters, it would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.

To be completely honest, after finishing this book I spent the rest of the day thinking about it, in a funk because I'd reached its end. It's been optioned for film, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it makes it to the big screen, but all I have to say is this: they had better cast it well, because I need me an Augustus Waters to moon over. And no, Grant Gustin (Sebastian from Glee) will not do!

Hazel's not the only one with an Augustus Waters fetish. I'm starting to feel like I'm a little bit obsessed...

6. Your Silver Linings!

And those, dear friends, are my silver linings this month - but I still want to read yours! If you've got some good stuff to share, then feel free to write a blog post and link to it below. You can use these buttons for your posts and/or sidebar, if you like:

<center> <a href="http://taylorlynnbooks.blogspot.com/search/label/Silver%20Lining%20Sundays" target="_blank"><img alt="Silver Lining Sundays" src=" http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa389/FaeryoftheForest/SilverLiningSundaysbanner2.jpg"/></a></center>

<center> <a href="http://taylorlynnbooks.blogspot.com/search/label/Silver%20Lining%20Sundays" target="_blank"><img alt="Silver Lining Sundays" src=" http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa389/FaeryoftheForest/SilverLiningSundaysbanner3.jpg"/></a></center>

And here's the linky tool:



The link-up will stay open until May 31st, which gives you plenty of time to participate if you're interested. I can't wait to see your posts!

(Also, if you're an aspiring author and you missed my last post, you should definitely check it out - I'm giving away a book every writer who dreams of publication should own! And for those of you who have already entered, I realized that I'd forgotten to make a button for you to grab. That oversight has been remedied - so check out the giveaway post here to grab a button for your sidebar. It'll give you another entry!)