The POTO Tickets Have Been Purchased

Yes, I am going to see the Phantom Of The Opera 25th Anniversary Live show at the *movie* theatre mah dears! To say that I am excited about Jared taking me out on a date to go see THE PHANTOM is hugely understated because truthfully I am beyond excited right now!

I've dreamed about seeing the actual live musical production for so many years now, that this is honestly a dream come true. And while I know that this is not LIVE it's live and that is seriously good enough for me. Maybe one day I will be able to see the production in London (for real) or even Paris. That would be heavenly. Until then though this - going to see it live in the movie theatre - is the best thing ever!

my beloved poto program and audio tapes

When I was around 8 I had the opportunity to go see the actual live production of POTO in Raleigh, NC, but sadly I thought that the phantom might have scared me a little and I backed out of going at the last minute. My mother went in my stead and brought me back a lovely production program and booklet. I have held onto that program booklet and cherished it for many many years, flipping through it's beautifully haunting photographs.

Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford 

via

My not having attended the best live musical on earth ever, I fully admit, is a day that I regret wholeheartedly. Ever since I had missed my chance to go I've listened to the old original London cast audio tapes from 1987 of POTO, the one with Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. (Actually I am listening to the tapes right now.) I think listening to the tapes is what has kept me sane for all of these years! 

I've dreamed a dream and thought of it fondly....

I was the little girl who belted the songs from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Rigoletto out loud for all to hear from within the shower...loud enough surely for the birds outside to have wanted to cover their ears! Yes, I am a musical lover and enthusiast. 

Random things about the Phantom and me:

• I can play Think of Me and all of the other songs on the piano.
• I can also sing them in French.
• I still listen to the audio tapes...surprisingly they haven't died yet!
• Organ music gives me the shivers.
• I own the novel by Gaston Leroux, but sadly have never read it all the way through.
• I still sing POTO songs in the shower.
• The POTO program is one of my most prized possessions. 
• Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera is brilliance.
• Secretly I want All I Ask Of You to be played at my wedding.
• Lon Chaney as The Phantom is scarrrrrrryyyy.
• I've watched the movie version in French, Italian and Spanish.

Thanks for listening to my long winded Phantom rant ya'll! I'm so excited and October 2nd cannot come quick enough! (I'll make sure to tell you all about it!)

So, what are your favorite musicals? Are you a fellow Phantom Phan?

Choosing to Stand, Sword in Hand

I only just finished reading Kim Meeder's book Fierce Beauty this morning and I stand amazed, my sword in hand.

This was not just a small 182 page book about seeing yourself as a beautiful person. It was a book that taught about being beauty in this world...becoming a beautiful vessel for our living God. These pages held many truths and lessons, simplistic and the-harder-ones-to-learn about how to truly live beautifully for Him and in such a way for others to glimpse that beauty within us daily.

Meeder speaks through her many life experiences, adventures, trials, sufferings, joys and even the animals in her life, wild and domesticated, to speak boldly about what it means to choose to stand for what matters most. And what matters most in this world is to take a stand, living courageously and beautifully for Him.

From snakes to sea turtles and from scary mountainsides to skiing for her life at all costs Meeder's stories are engaging, humorous and insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed how poetically she wrote throughout the whole book, and I also adored how every chapter told a chapter of the author's own life and then at the end of each chapter everything was neatly wrapped up with a small chapter and word from the heart of God.

If you are a lover of The King and of animals then this book is for you. If you are seeking to live a life of beauty that is not about how you look then this book is for you. If you are struggling with an untimely death, thoughts of suicide, anorexia/bulimia or learning to possess a heart of forgiveness then this book, my friend, is indeed written for you.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.


Please rank my review of this book below! Thanks.

A Little Sunday Reflection Bliss

Sunday. Rest. Laughter. Love. Bliss, indeed it was. Sigh.

     I had the lovely pleasure of spending all day Sunday with the most handsome young man on planet earth (okay, so I may be a teensy bit biased!) Really though, my Fisher is the most super handsome man and he is also my best friend in the whole world! I thank my King for him every day! I'm a blessed young lady to have him in my life. And luckily for me spending all this time with my guy on Sunday has made me reflect on just how much, and why I love him like I do.

And here's where I reflect, okay?

     I love spending time with him. Honestly, I never get sick of spending time with Jared. Actually each time I get to spend the whole day with him my heart only grows that much fonder of the time we have together, and every second is filled with more joy and love than the last second could have ever held! Being around him is like drawing closer to a kindred friendship, awakening and deepening each and every time we are together. 

     Not only is his outer shell extremely handsome, but his heart is too. He also has the tendency to make me laugh and rest like no one else can. Which I adore. Through him and the way he loves me I've learned to calm down and to enjoy life more fully...even in the quiet moments, which I used to hate. What can I say? I push him to be more outgoing and adventurous and he usually reigns me back in and helps me to reflect and reside in peace for a spell now and again. In our differences we are perfectly matched to be help-meets for one another. And thankfully we share many of the same tastes and likes which helps us from having polar angsty collisions, but we are very different nevertheless. I'm glad we're the same and yet completely complimentary all at the same time.

      He is truly a set apart young man. No one, with the exception of God, understands me and knows me the way that he does. I am so thankful for that! When I'm with Jared my heart and mind are found at the epitome of peace. I'm not daunted by the world around me, but rather inspired instead. Nor do I feel isolated like I do when we are separated by the many miles that stretch between us. He brightens life, always.

     Ah, I just love him so very much! I can't get over how awesome the last nearly 2 years have been with him. Like I said before, I count myself beyond blessed! Jared is the man of my dreams. I love him to the moon and back again. I truly do. *blushes*

On a Sunday there is nothing I love better than...

• Introducing myself as "Sarah the Sesquipedalian (user of long words)" at the College/Career Sunday School Class.
• Singing to the Lord while standing next to my love in Church. 
• Getting stung by a yellow jacket  on the very top of my foot and then being babied by my super cute guy...minus the sting part of course! 
• Eating pizza and drinking orange soda on the back porch together during a thunderstorm.
• Talking about our novel's characters together and watching as they dance vividly before our very eyes in joyous back and forth ping pong style conversation.
• Leaving the house in a rush to get to the bookstore before it closed to buy some Nicholas Sparks books. Yes, it was a random, spur of the moment trip and it was wonderful!
• Saying 'I love you' a bazillion times and meaning it even more each and every single time the syllables that make up that sweet trio of endearing words dance upon my tongue.
• Him holding me in his strong and warm embrace, that doesn't want to let go.
• Laughing so much in one day that I honestly could not stop smiling.

     There are so many more things that I love about my boyfriend. I could probably fill a whole novel full of just the simple small things that I love about him. It's the simple way that Jared sees people and the world that makes me slow down and appreciate each and every breath I take a little more each day.

I love you Jay! It's not Iceland, m'dear! *wink wink*

With Love, Your Red