I'm Moving

Hello Lovelies,

For almost three years, you've all known me here at AGOB. However, I've had many other blogs in that time, many other sites I'd run, all aimed at different audiences. All of them were a genuine part of me, but none of them were completely me. I'd have different parts of me on different sites and everyone knew a slightly different Sarah. My real life friends knew me as one Sarah online, some online friends knew me as another Sarah, and others knew me as yet another Sarah.

I've decided that this isn't how I want to do this anymore. It's exhausting trying to figure out where I'll post a certain thing and where I won't post another. I want to be integral. I want to be the same person here as I would be anywhere else. I don't want people to know different versions of me.

Which I why I've decided it's time to move. It's time to move from having four blogs to one. It's time to be real wherever I am. So I'm moving to a site called Meraki, the definition of which is "the soul, creativity, or love put into something; the essence of yourself that is put into your work". 

I want to put all of me into my work, not just parts. So what I've done is I've taken posts from different blogs and compiled a selection of them on this new blog. That'll be the blog I'll post on from now on. The only one. So if you'd like to keep in touch, and I hope you do, come over and follow me there! 

It's been an incredible journey with you all and I'm definitely going to miss the security and comfort of AGOB, but I know this is what I need to do. 

So for the last time here at least, this is Sarah signing off on A Glimpse of Blue. 

The Professor Man

His dirty blonde hair is long and he has part of it in a ponytail behind his head. There's a big, bushy beard on his face. He's wearing a blue Hawaii shit.

He really isn't much to look at. The hair isn't very well groomed. He's probably in his sixties. He walks with a stride that has seen many years.

It's his eyes that are captivating. Behind the slightly brutish appearance, he's got beautiful, intelligent, deep, sensitive eyes. He's quiet and walks with a slight slump.

Maybe he's a teacher. He looks like he could teach. The wisdom wrinkles on his face are clear to see and I wonder how much he's seen. How much happiness. How much love. How much pain. How much despair. He could be a university professor. He'd teach philosophy of course. He'd be the one that everyone loved. You know, the kind one. The smart one. The sensitive one.

He's all alone and I can just hear his voice as he orders a potato skin stack over the chatter of the carnival stalls around me. It's soft and smooth and suddenly I can picture him with a guitar, singing songs about suck lock and driving a pick-up truck.

The lady behind the stand hands him the deep-friend potato stack and he walks away with a crooked smile on his face. I can hear him chuckling a bit.

So, to the man with the old eyes, I hope you enjoyed your potatoes.

52 Thoughts I Had While Rewatching Disney's Pinocchio

Hello Lovelies!

I'd like to start this post off by saying that I hadn't seen Pinocchio in over five years when I watched it... it's a little different than I remembered it. So, without further adieu, here is my train of thought during Pinocchio.

1. Why does Jiminy Cricket have a hillbilly accent? Isn't Pinocchio German?

2. Why did Geppetto give Pinocchio no mouth?

3. Ahh, he's painting on the mouth. Never mind.

4. Ooh, the fish and the cat don't like the name Pinocchio.

5. Geppetto really needs some company.

6. How is the fish so pretty? It's not fair, she's a fish!

7. Ah yes, an alarm clock where the alarm noise is a child screaming while his mother spanks him. Lovely. 

8. That pipe is literally as long as your arm, Geppetto. I'm concerned.

9. The cat is me. I am literally this cat. 

10. I'm pretty sure the Blue Fairy is just Snow White with blonde hair.

11. Geppetto, go back to bed. 

12. How are two foxes walking around and no one notices? Yet people notice Pinocchio is wooden...

13. I'm convinced the cat wants to be human and that's why he's jealous of Pinocchio.

14. For being a conscience, Jiminy's not very noble or good.

15. Lol, the cat/lion/fox/human thing is so stupid.

16. Yeah Pinocchio, don't be an actor. There's no money in that. Go to school.

17. How has Pinocchio become so famous in like 30 seconds?

18. Poor Pinocchio. All these girls want him and he looks terrified. 

19. The show runner just locked Pinocchio in a cage!

20. And now he's twerking. This is not good. 

22. The dolls are hanging by their necks and the lightning keeps flashing on their smiling faces. This is creepy. How is this a children's movie?

23. Poor Geppetto. He's all alone in his bathrobe in the rain trying to find his son.

24. How does a puppet blow his nose? What does he get? Splinters instead of boogers?

25. Ooh. Pinocchio's in trouble now. The Blue Fairy wants to know why Pinocchio didn't go to school.

26. How did his nose grow birds? Maybe he gets birds instead of boogers.

27. Ooh. His coins are bigger than the show runner/director's. Take his, fox people.

28. Did the man just say he's collecting stupid little boys? 

29. This is so not a children's movie.

30. Let me get this right. He's collecting stupid boys to take to a place called Pleasure Island where they never come back as boys. Please tell me I'm not the only one whose mind is going some place it shouldn't.

31. Pinocchio! Don't go to Pleasure Island; you won't be able to go school... I'm sensing a theme here. 

32. So Pleasure Island is basically a big carnival with free drinks and cakes.... can I go to Pleasure Island?

33. "Come here and smoke your heads off!" Who decided this was an appropriate movie for children?

34. "You buttered your bread, now sleep in it." I don't think that's how that phrase goes Jiminy.

35. The stupid-boy-collecting man is turning the stupid boys into donkeys. Okay. That's not what I was expecting. 

36. The real question is, why are there no girls here? Answer, because girls aren't this stupid apparently.

37. Oh, we're in trouble. Pinocchio's turning into a donkey. 

38. This is horrifying.

39. Finally. Go home Pinocchio. 

40. Where's Geppetto?

41. Oh, he was swallowed by a whale. Of course. I should have seen that coming. 

42. Pinocchio's going to drown himself to find the whale at the bottom of the sea. Right. That's logical.

43. Now he's dragging the rock that sunk him around with him. Is this supposed to be symbolic?

44. Aww, the sea horses are so cute!

45. "I never though it would end this way. Starving to death in the belly or a whale." I can't imagine many people would think it would end that way, Geppetto. 

46. They're literally making a fire in the belly of the whale just for the purpose of making it sneeze so they can get out. How stupid are these people? Why is the whale not burning on the inside? So many questions!

47. Oh. The whale's having a sneezing fit. This isn't good. The whale's the size of the hotel. 

48. "Oh no! Now he hates me!" Well if you wanted him to like you Geppetto, maybe you shouldn't have set your boat on fire in his belly. Not the best way to make friends.

49. No! Pinocchio's dead (although I'm a little confused as to how. Can't he breathe underwater?)

50. Oh please! You're going to save him? He hasn't been selfless, brave or true! He's been a brat.

51. Yeah, yeah, Pinocchio's alive. We get it.

52. Awww, Jiminy's got his gold badge. Good for him.

Well.

That was something.

A little different than I remember.

Okay, a lot different than I remember.

Moral of the story: Stay in school kids.

Up next: Bambi

The Disney Month

Hello Lovelies!!

So as you've probably read, I've finished high school (yay), and been accepted into a five-month program starting in March (yay 2x).

However, as you may notice, it is only February.

I don't start the program until the 7th of March, which gives me almost a month of no school or work (gasp).

Now what could I do with a whole month....

DISNEY MOVIE MARATHON!!!

About halfway through January, I decided that one of things I wanted to do this month before I left home, was to watch all of my favourite Disney movies in chronological order of when they were released. Now, I started to make the list and realized that it was just way too long for me to finish in a month. I like too many movies. Oops. So I had to narrow it down to movies released 2000 or earlier, and they all had to be cartoon.

And then I thought, "How can I make this into a blog thing? Because this really feels like this could be a blog thing." And I came up with the idea to do a "30 (or 40, or 50, doesn't really matter) Thoughts I Had While Watching ___________" post for each of the movies I watch, complete with gifs if I can find them. I'll scatter these with other posts as well, otherwise I think you and I would both go crazy.

Here's the list (in order because it's me, so of course it's in order):

- Pinocchio (1940)
- Bambi (1942)
- Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Peter Pan (1953)
- Lady and the Tramp (1955)
- 101 Dalmatians (1961)
- The Jungle Book (1967)
- The Aristocats (1970)
- Robin Hood (1973)
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
- The Rescuers (1977)
- The Fox and the Hound (1981)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Aladdin (1992)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Pocahontas (1995)
- Hercules (1997)
- Mulan (1998)
- Tarzan (1999)
- The Tigger Movie (2000)


I hope you all will join me in rewatching some of the greatest cartoon movies of all time. What are some of your favourite Disney movies? Did I include them on my list?

Moving On

Hello Lovelies!

I have returned. 

(Do y'all like the new theme? Still not sure if I'm happy with it. Be prepared; it may change. Ten points if you can name where the background image is from)

I am officially done high school. Forever and ever. Amen. That was exhausting.

And I got early acceptance to one of my back up Universities.

And yesterday I got an interview to one of my first choice Universities AND I got accepted to a 5 month school I'm doing from March to July this year. 

And I only have 33 more days before I officially move out. Like out of my house. To do.... adultly things. 

Wow, that sounded much more inappropriate than I meant it too.

A month. That's really soon.

I'm excited and slightly terrified. But mostly excited. 

Eep. 

I'm just looking back at posts like Looking for a House in Neverland and realizing how far I've come. I'm an adult now. Like a legit, proper, legal, age of majority in Canada adult. 

Wow.

I'm Still Here!

Hello Lovelies,

     I don't have much time (read: none) to write a huge blog post right now, but I wanted to let you all know that I do still exist here on this blog. I'm still alive! And I miss writing on here a lot.

     As anyone who's finishing up their last year in high school will tell you, January/February is an insane time, because, not only do you have the exams that will ultimately determine if you're going to get into University or College, but those pesky post-secondary applications are also due at the same time your exams happen. And if those applications are to an artistic program, you're also expected to submit a portfolio. Who decided this was such a genius idea? I mean really, are they trying to kill us.

     Anywho, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still alive and I haven't forgotten about this blog, and I am fully intending on returning to writing here (more) regularly in February. I'll be finished high school in a week.

Until then!

Mugs are my friends.

Hello Lovelies!

I have a confession to make. It's been a long time coming. I feel like you guys know me well enough. You deserve the truth.

I have an unhealthy love of mugs.

I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love mugs. Collecting them, drinking out of them, even taking pictures of them. I'm obsessed guys. And today, I thought I display some of the evidence of this obsession by showing you some of my favourite mugs.

I bought this one very recently from a store called Pier One Imports. I think it's really cute and it's very autumnesque (yes I know this isn't a real word). I haven't actually had anything to drink out of it yet; I'm waiting until I'm over this cold.

My friend Kara brought this one back from Paris
with her (only slightly jealous). I love the detail
on the mug and the little spoon beside it is just
adorable. It's not too large, so it's perfect for a
mug of something when you don't have time to
curl up with a good book or when you don't
want a big cup of something.

This one is also from Kara. It's a little early for this one, but in a few weeks, when the snow's falling and there's a fire in the fireplace and my Mum's got Amy Grant playing on the stereo, I'm sure this will be filled with hot chocolate and lots of marshmallows.








Ooh, I love this one. It's got a quote by C.S. Lewis on
it that says, "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a
book long enough to suit me." It was given to me by my
friend Sarah when I had my concussion. It's really big
and perfect for curling up on the sofa with a book.

This one was a gift from my Grandparents when I was pretty young. Maybe six? I don't use it too often anymore, but I think it's really cute. Definitely one of those things that you keep to look back on later. My siblings and I all have one and every once in a while, we'll pull them out and all have a coffee or hot chocolate together.

 Another mug given to me by the amazing friend Kara. You think she knows me? It's got two faces, one on each side. We have this thing with Spongebob and Spongebob's faces and I grin like an idiot every time I pick it up.

I found these mugs in a cute little store where we were cottaging this past summer. They were on the bottom shelf and obviously had been ignored due to a little chip on the edge. I bought them both for a dollar. 

This one was given to me by my other wonderful friend Hayley. When you pour hot water in it, the TARDIS disappears from the street and reappears in space.

So what have learned from this post today? We have learned that Sarah is obsessed with mugs and she has friends who know her very, very well.

Astoria - My Review

Hello Lovelies!

So one of my favourite bands released their new album about a month back and it's beautiful. It's so raw and real, I'm in awe of the songwriting. I'm going to do a review of my favourites ordered by their appearance on the album, although that's going to be very, very hard because literally every song is my favourite. However, I thought you should all have a bit of backstory before you listen, so you can appreciate the beauty and pain in this album.

Basically, "Astoria" is the past four years for Josh and the highs and lows that he went through. Having Call Me Maybe become huge, being nominated at the Grammys, going on arena tours and getting engaged. His mother being diagnosed with Dementia, his fiancee leaving him, spending lots of time in and out of the hospital, losing his motivation and drive. This album is pretty much his diary of the past two years. He got tons of people who had been there with him in the crappy parts to actually play and sing little bits on the album. If you want to find out more, the video below goes into the making of Astoria (there is a bit of swearing in it, be forewarned).

1. Astoria

For some stupid reason, I can't upload the video directly from YouTube, so you'll have to click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDuZ5bs4g1s . 

If you know Marianas Trench, you'll know that their opening songs and their closing songs are always the best. This one is no different. It's a medley of a whole bunch of different styles and really intense and it definitely sets the scene for the rest of the album to follow. 3:00-4:30 is the best part of the song in my humble opinion, because minor key and his falsetto. Language warning if you don't like that kind of thing.

2. Burning Up

Alright, so none of the videos will embed in my post. You'll have to click the links if you want to hear them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=423Dln7tZ10

I heard the chorus first on a little preview and was immediately grinning. It's totally got the 80s party vibe and his high notes here are beautiful. I love, love the cockiness in the line "Don't say you don't miss me that much, don't say I don't still make you blush". It's about a relationship that maybe it's going the greatest. Then the guy is saying, "Is this really that bad? Are you really going to call this off? You can see the chemistry we have, don't deny it." 

3. This Means War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dkD9COPTcU

I can relate slightly to this one and it's another upbeat song. The way I see it, it's about two people who used to have chemistry, who would banter a lot. Then they moved away and kind of lost touch, then when they'd see each other again, they'd be all polite. They'd ask each other how they were doing and ask about their lives. But the chorus is talks about missing the bantering, the chemistry, the "war". It's fun. I like it.

4. Dearly Departed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fKYW_ALPVg

Don't even get me started on this one. Ugh, it's so beautiful and simple and I love it so much. It's just a ukulele and a violin. It's him singing about his relationship with his fiancee. It hits me right in the feels every time I listen to it. The bridge is the best part of the whole song because it has references to all of the songs he wrote for her. If you're not a Trencher, I've written the lyrics of the bridge below, and bolded the song references, just because you have to see this. It's amazing.

"Every masterpiece I'd write again
You'll always be my porcelain
I crossed my heart
But I stuttered too
So truth or dare
Was I good to you
Haven't had enough of you all to myself
Still right beside you
In sickness and health
For ever after
You will be my home
And there's no place like home"

5. While We're Young

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Aap4cj7jk

This one is beautiful. It's the one that you get your lighters out for when they play it live. It's slow, but not soft. There's a different sort of vibe, less put together. I don't know how to describe it. It's more... messy? The guitars aren't perfectly mixed and it sounds so good. The song's about being in a relationship and slowly growing apart. The slow fade. The chorus talks about how they're young and it should be the time of their lives, but they miss each other. 

6. Forget Me Not

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctp75pgQcF0

I tear up every time I hear this song. My parents can't listen to it without crying. Basically, don't listen to it unless you're ready to feel all the feels. Josh wrote this song about his mother and how she's slowly forgetting him. He says he isn't ready for it all, he still needs his mum, but he's going to be there for her. He'll help her back into the bed and be her forget-me-not. It's beautiful and so sad. 

7. End of Era

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FYqqtwTFFo

Kay, I love this song for so many reasons. First, so many references to other songs in other albums. Porcelain, Masterpiece Theatre, Ever After, Celebrity Status, they're all in there. And it makes me so happy listening to it because I feel like so many artists kinda throw out their old music when they make new stuff, almost ashamed of it. With these guys, they embrace it. They make it part of who they are today. Second, I absolutely love the medley, the way they managed to combine so many different styles of music into an amazing piece of art. Just when you think it can't get cooler, it does. Then I love the lyrics and the meaning. It's all about not forgetting your past but moving on and saying goodbye. He's saying goodbye to the past couple years of his life, his "Astoria". He's grown up, he's moved on, he needs to say goodbye to his past. The first song sang "Tell me I survive you, Astoria". Then this one sings "How did we survive you, Astoria?" A conclusion. An ending. I could literally copy and paste the entire song lyrics here, but I've narrowed it down to three lines that I absolutely love.

"I'm so afraid of trying something new

Cause every start begins with saying goodbye to you"

"(How did we survive)

We went through hell in Astoria
(How did we survive)
We lost ourselves in Astoria
(How did we survive)
I gave in to sickness
Can you find forgiveness
For a dear old friend
So Astoria can end"

"I hope you know that I don't blame you my dear friend

Always will love you still
But Astoria must end"

Anyways. This album is amazing and beautiful and this was possibly the hardest album review I've had to write because there are ten amazing songs I didn't even include in this list. You should all go listen to it, because it's priceless.

Welcome to the family, Elliot

Hello Lovelies,

When I was growing up, we had a bunny. Her name was Roxy and she was pretty much the devil's spawn. She was the daughter of two wild bunnies and as such, was never tame and had a habit of running away. There were many nights spent in the backyard with the badminton net trying to trap her. She was more of an experiment of a pet. She died about three years ago and we didn't replace her.... until recently.

My brother and mum were at the local animal shelter when my brother saw a big, furry bunny in the window of one of the rooms. He wasn't moving around much and when they asked the volunteer about him, she said that the bunny had lost half of his front leg in an injury.

They felt in love with him immediately and two days later, he was ours.

After a vigorous voting process with many name options (Ramsy, Floppsy, Elliot, Yeger and Mr. Nosey were the top five), we eventually landed on Elliot.

Curious bunny. He kept poking my camera. 

Relaxing by the fire. 

Sounds Good Feels Good - My Review

Hello Lovelies!

So, if you're like me and may or may not be part of the 5SOS fam, then you know that they may or may not have released a beautiful masterpiece a little while back. And if you're like me, you may or may not have sobbed and laughed and been ridiculously proud all at the same time. So! If after reading that description and you've decided that you ARE in fact like me, then stick around, because I'm about to dive head first into the Sounds Good Feels Good album. I'll list my favourites in the order they appear on the album.

1. Permanent Vacation

This one seriously reminds me of the song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson. It's got the whole, "Screw what people say. I'm doing things my way and I'm taking a break" vibe going on. It's fun. It's peppy. It's upbeat. But it's definitely a step up from She Looks So Perfect.

2. Waste the Night  

In my humble opinion, I think the best part of this song is the chorus and the interlude. It's kind of sappy, I'm not going to lie, but I still like it. It's about needing someone's love and not wanting to make the same mistakes as last time by leaving them. Last time they wasted the night and they don't want to do that this time. The interlude is just pretty. I have no idea what they're saying, but it's pretty.

3. Castaway

This one probably has the rockiest vibe on the album, even if it's not the heaviest. The lyrics do nothing for me really, I just love the beat, especially in the pre-chorus. The pre-chorus lyrics are pretty good too actually, so I retract my statement. They're about how someone left them with nothing but empty picture frames. It's got a vibe of another band, but I can't quite place it. Anyone have any ideas?

4. Broken Home

I could go on for ages about the beauty and pain in this song. And I'm pretty sure like many other people, it took me a few times before I could listen to it without breaking down and sobbing. It's about a girl who's grew up in a home where her parents were always fighting and screaming and she was dying. She's looking back on her time there and it still hurts. The chorus, ugh, the chorus. I'm tearing up as I think about it now. It's her talking directly to her parents. It saddens me to think about just how many people can relate to this song. Even if you aren't a 5SOS fan, listen to this song. It's really beautiful and real.

"Hey mum, hey dad
When did this end?
Where did you lose your happiness?
I'm here alone inside of this broken home
Who's right, who's wrong
Who really cares?
The fault, the blame, the pain's still there
I'm here alone inside of this broken home, this broken home"

5. Invisible

Yet another beautifully written song. Man, these guys really surprised me with the depth in their lyrics this time around. I mean, I knew they were good writers, but we went from them writing songs like Don't Stop, to this. This song is about not knowing who you are and being torn between your dreams. The chorus is, "Who am I? Who am I when don't know myself?" I don't know, it's a very relatable song, especially when you're having to choose between stuff that you love. And the violins at the end are just gorgeous.

6. Airplanes

Michael. Just Michael. He's on fire in this song and I'm so proud of him and he sounds so good. My Dad listened to this and said it reminded him of a band he listened to growing up, so that gives you an idea of the vibe. It's really cool. It's totally different than anything they'd written before. It's a very lyrical song. In a weird way, it kind of reminds me of Mary Poppins? I don't know. Just listen to the song. 

What were your favourites?? 

Thanksgiving Weekend

Hello Lovelies,

This post is about a month overdue and the truth is, I completely forgot about it. I was scrolling through my photo library, looking through the photos from the past month and realized that I had a whole bunch of photos from Thanksgiving weekend that I'd never posted!

Back in July, my family and I bought tickets to see Marianas Trench at Norfolk County Fair. Closer to the date, we thought, "Why don't we just spend the weekend up there?" Let me tell you, it was really fun to tell people who were having dinner with their families for Thanksgiving that I was going to see one of my favourite bands and spending the weekend in Norfolk. It made me feel like I was part of the dangerous, rock band loving family. Oh shush, let me live happily in my delusion. My family is totally dangerous and rock band loving. ;) Anyways, I didn't actually get to take any good pictures of Marianas Trench because I wasn't allowed to bring my good camera in, but I'll give you a crappy iPhone picture, just so I can say that I was there.

Ta da! I was there! They were incredible, again. Definitely
going to see them perform on their next Canadian tour.
Astoria songs anyone?

This was heavenly. Truly beautiful. It was a poutine with
pulled pork and fresh cheese curds. The gravy was just salty
enough and the fries were crispy and I'm drooling just
remembering it.

You know you're small when...

He was so cute and flopsy. 

This little guy was just two weeks old and he was so cute
and soft. Smelly, but very adorable.

I love bird eyes. They're always so
alert and round. That probably sounds
really weird. I'm not a creepy person,
I promise.

Is it just me, or does he look remind
you of a vampire? Dracula or something.

Ferris wheels are very picturesque.
They remind me of Grease and the
Notebook. 

It took me a zillion times to get this
picture because I had to get the sun
flare just right with the people and the
merry-go-round. But I'm really happy
with the way it turned out. 

 

Again with the Ferris wheel. ^^

My Grandy is very pretty. I really like
this picture. It captures her quiet
personality and her artist side at the
same time. 

Ahaha, no family outing would be complete without a
ridiculous picture from Jonathan and I. 

Sunset out the hotel window the first night.  

On the Sunday, we visited Chudley's
Apple Farm to grab some apples.
My family all went to get the bags,
I went to go get the pictures. 

This was the second weekend in October,
and it felt like the beginning of September.

I really need a macro lens.

Gorgeous, gorgeous flowers.

The beginnings of fall colours. 

Late on Monday night, we did have
the typical, traditional Thanksgiving
meal. Turkey, ham, brussel sprouts,
green beans, squash and more.