this may not have been posted until the wee hours of Saturday. Whoops.

Hey it's finally Friday. Finally. This week was going to be great and then it was just sort of average and I had too many overly tired days and too many grumpy evenings and too many coffees and yet never enough coffee. I'm sure you've all had those weeks. But today is finally Friday and I didn't have to get up for anything and was able to sleep in for the first time in multiple weeks which resulted in not even thinking of getting up until 10:30. And now I can do whatever I want today which is going to be a Chick-fil-a trip with the favorite little sister, Mercy, and getting my Halloween costume finished up over at The Bloughs and then watching Sweeny Todd or Phantom of the Opera with Mercy tonight. Or maybe just playing the Lego Harry Potter Wii game all night. Depending on how we feel when we get to that time of night. And tomorrow I get to see the boy and other cool people and sleep over at Amanda's and I'm happy I'm not at work and I don't smell like a sandwich and I don't have to be anxious about health inspections or grumpy customers or sick coworkers. I'm happy today.
Just like Mercy and Laura were happy. (and Rose too. Though I may have forgotten to read her post. Jk I did read it because I'm nice and definitely still not bitter.)

OKAY STORY TIME.
I woke up this morning to my phone ringing and I was a little bit worried it was going to be work but then it was just Wallgreens telling me my photos were ready for pickup. I really like printing photos and sticking them to my wall or in my journal rather than just having them on my phone. Anyway. I feel back asleep (just because I could) and had the strangest dream.
So I was at work and I was working the grille with Mercy and our boss Don and there was a very long line of customers. And suddenly there was a new part of the grille with new fryers and stuff but everything was really really tall. And since I'm a short munchkin person, this was a bit of a problem. But whatever I just stood on my tiptoes. So then I was making fries for this one couple and suddenly one of the french fries stood up and turned into Tom Riddle.

And I turned to him and I was like "Tom. NO. Not again. Go back." so he turned around and kind of hung his head and turned back into a french fry. And yeah. That was interesting. I'm not really sure what inspired that dream or why french fry Tom was making so much trouble. But whatever. 

OKAY MORE STORY TIME.... COMING SOON! As in next week. As in, November starts on Sunday and so does NaNoWriMo and, as tradition says, we write an epic round story. Anyone else excited? I know Mercy is. We freaked a little bit at breakfast this morning. Let's do a horror story. (I'm a little bit hyped up on horror as I talked about in my post last week. Slasher Girls and Monster Boys freaked the crap out of me. I cried over it. Rose. You need to read it.) Or maybe a contemporary. Or sci-fi or paranormal or maybe we should write something form 2nd person POV or maybe we could write a biography about PF Chang. I don't know. I'm really excited. I'm also excited about my NaNo project because I have ideas and I want to write them before I forget them, but I'm also really nervous because I only have parts of ideas and I'm obviously nervous they're not going to carry me through 50,000 words. Whatever. NaNo problems.

K well. That's all folks. I hope everyone has a splendid Halloween or October 31st if Halloween isn't your thang. Gnight everyone <3 Grace 

I'm a wackadoodle, okay?

Well it's Thursday.

Sorry I forgot to post last week. I suck as a human bean.

I'm going to psychoanalyze your posts now because I've been taking an intro to psych course and it's super interesting and since I've done like half of it I'm totally qualified, right?

Grace: Your post was full of passive aggression and underlying messages. I sense some deep seeded anger that needs to be dealt with before you literally turn into the Hulk. That's how the Hulk happened, right? I don't know I could never sit through that entire movie, it was too boring and weird.

Is this the hulk or the Green Giant guy? 

Laura: I'm clearly unqualified to handle all of your issues. You should see a therapist. Like a real actual therapist. You're just a mess.

Mercy: I don't know if post concert depression is a real disease that's recognized by the medical community, but I definitely think it can be solved by watching This is Us and binge eating all the candy you're supposed to give to children on Halloween.

So now that I'm done giving out unwarranted advice to others let's talk about my problems.

Where to start? Uh, okay. So I have this problem/condition/disorder I like to refer to as Obsessive Compulsive Wikipedia Spirals, wherein I, both obsessively and compulsively, hide from my responsibilities/feelings by reading an entire Wikipedia page. Usually it's the entire page of something really morbid, like the Columbine shooting, or Kurt Cobain's suicide. Or random things like the Terri Schiavo case, and Terri's Law and basically everything about and pertaining to Terri Schiavo. Or I just skip about from page to page hoping to feel whole inside again.

Segway

So I've been trying to convince my mom to let me get a cat. Once Pippin dies of course.Because I actually like cats because they're fairly low maintenance and clinically insane like me.

 I've decided to get a calico because look at these cats.

This one has seen things.

They're freaking perfect. I'm going to name mine Cymbeline and call it Symba, so I can arise every morning and hold it up over my head like that scene in Lion King on pride rock.

In this scenario I'm the creepybutsmart? monkey man. And Symba is Symba except like a cat. Like a real cat. Not like a cartoon cat. Do you get the picture?

So I recently (and by recently I mean today) purchased a book of short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald because he's my favorite author and I love him. And in this book of short stories is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which I recently (and by recently I mean today) discovered is by Mr. Fitzgerald. You've probably heard of the Curious Case of Benjamin Button movie which came out a couple years ago (if you haven't: it's about a guy who ages backwards and it's really strange) and was popular. Anyway the short story is really good and you (and by you I mean Grace because let's be honest Laura doesn't have the time and Mercy doesn't have the attention span) should read it.

So that's all I've got for you today.

Grace, we'll hear from you tomorrow?

Gurl please -Rose

i forgot to title this

good evening gurls, it's Wednesday

so i've kind of been in a slum of post-concert depression and i've just been watching video's from my concert and now i'm very sad.

i don't know what to post about and i haven't read any of your posts from this week and I only have 12 minutes left on my computer time so lets speed this up.

i had a really good day today. i saw a show with my department and it was such a good show, i loved it, and then i found out i won this giveaway thing so i'm getting a new phone case and then i also found out this thing about school idk it's complicated but yup it just made me really happy and i've been snapchatting a few people tonight and yeah it's just making me really happy.

and tomorrow should be a gr8 day and then friday i get to relax and then saturday is halloween and i'm gonna "hand in" my two weeks notice except not really cuz i can't work next weekend so i'll be like "hey i'm gonna stop working here very shortly" and yeah i know quitting a job might not seem like a good thing but i honestly am so happy because that job stresses me out more than anything except i need to find a new job first because i need money like nobodies business but yeah i'll miss lil old barts except not really but i'll still come in for iced coffee and curly fries all the time because iced coffee is my love and curly fries are my bae

Much Ado is a week away from starting tech which means we open in like two weeks which means y'all will be able to come and see it and I'M SO EXCITED i'll give you more specific dates later...

but yeah um i'm not really sure what else to say, that's just a little update on my life. i hope y'all are doing good :) i kind of have to go now though cuz my time is almost up........

the man to which my heart belongs.... 

Rosie, I'll hear from you tomorrow??????? (probably not) 

xoxo,
Mercy

Happy Things.

Good evening, people of earth.
    I had a bad day, and I almost forgot to post. However, instead of crying about cancelled plans, biased professors, and crazy ex-boyfriends, I'm going to make a list of things that make me happy. Because it has taken me nineteen years to understand that I deserve to be happy, and I'm not going to let one bad day wreck me. This God-given life of mine is brimming with worth and potential, and I'm doing my best to keep my head above water and remember how passionately loved I am by the One who created me.
    So, today sucked. But there's always tomorrow. On Wednesdays I have lab at 8am and get to see my best friend and learn all about the profession of nursing. Later on I have choir practice, where I get to conquer the challenge of singing a capella and absorb that spine-tingling rush I get whenever we bring a piece together and it sounds angelic. I get to wear my scrubs all day, and Campus Ministry gives away free bagels from Panera. The performing arts Halloween social is tomorrow night, and as long as my firefighting friend Liam is my escort I know I'll be able to handle anything.
    Here are some other things about life which do not at all suck:
-Autumn. I looked at the trees outside the library at dusk and they took my breath away, their almost bare branches standing out against the sunset sky. I see the beauty of God in nature, and I'm so thankful for this season, which continually reminds me of His love and goodness in all its colors and natural wonder.
-Coffee. Nothing else motivates me to get up in the early hours of dawn like a hot cup of Mom's home-brewed coffee. Tomorrow Libby is buying me Dunkin- another reason why I'm anticipating the end of today.
-The chapel at school. Getting to go there and reflect between classes really calms me down. I find solace at the altar, where I have no problem achieving clarity of mind and thanking Jesus for all He continues to do for me.
-Singing. Singing is my antidepressant. That is all.
-My male suitor. He is too good for me, and I appreciate his compassionate and gentle demeanor, which constantly reminds me of the love of God. I'm a lucky lady:)
-Taylor Swift. Her music inspires me to be proud of who I am, love openly, and drink the blood of all the men who have done me wrong. She is my spirit animal.
-Running. I feel majestic when I exercise, even though I probably look like a diabetic sloth stampeding through molasses. I regret nothing.
    That's all I have for happy things today. I feel a lot better now, ready to go to sleep, arise at dawn and greet the day with as much gall as I can muster.
    Mercy, good luck with rehearsals. I'll hear from you tomorrow.
--Laura :)

The One When Rosie didn't Post and I don't Let Her forget it.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, our dear Rose Backus has failed to post.... YET AGAIN. Am I bitter? Pshhh. Am I upset. Of course not. Am I missing her sarcastic rants like crazy? Not at all.

Just kidding. I'm very bitter, very upset, and missing her sarcastic rants more than anything. ROSIE. COME BACK PLEASE. I MISS YOU.

Mercy and Laura, I enjoyed both of your posts a lot. Mercy's had a lot of words and Laura's had a lot of gif's and that's a lot of backwardness but it was nice. And I'm happy that you two both have love and dedication for this internet home of ours. *glares at the awkward 4th member of the blog*
Hey guess what happens next week.
Halloween.
I'm excited. Halloween is exciting. I'm dressing up as Alice in Wonderland and Simeon is going to be The Mad Hatter. I'm a tiny bit jealous that I'm don't have plans of staying up and watching movies all night, or hanging out at home with the mother, passing out candy to the small witches and warlocks that come knocking on our door throughout the evening, but hopefully it'll be fun. What are you Backus people doing for the Halloween? My guess is Rose won't be blogging.
Oh Mercy, you have no idea. (Well actually you do. We're basically the same person) I'm so excited for this holiday season. It's crazy that it's already here and that we have barely over two months of 2015 left. I already have a Christmas present for Laura (I've actually had it sitting in my room for about a month) and I know exactly what I'm getting for Rose.  I'm so excited to make cookies more than necessary and start stringing up lights everywhere, and wearing sweaters and leggings and singing along to Michael Buble at the top of my lungs. I'm excited to sit in front of the fireplace and watch Charlie Brown movies about Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm excited to watch decorations go up all over the place, in people's front lawns and in the mall and at church and I'm excited for ice skating and sledding and finding new ways of drinking liquid chocolate. I could go on forever. But I'll stop. Just like Rose stopped blogging.

Okay. So since it's been October and, you know, Halloween and all, I've been trying to psych myself out a little bit. So Mercy and I saw Crimson Peak in theaters last Sunday. It was my first R rated movie at the theaters and as much as I loved it, I sorta didn't like it. I know that doesn't make sense, but it does to me. It was so good and beautiful and I loved it and yet it was so dumb and it wasn't that scary and I wouldn't advise you to spend money on seeing it on the big screen. Maybe one day we'll watch it on The Foursome couch (except probably not Rose) and eat bruschetta and laugh at the silly graphics but love Tom Hiddleston because, obviously, his character is just misunderstood and he's not as twisted and gross as the movie tries to portray him. Anyway, I've also been reading scary books. So right  now I'm about halfway through The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd and it's decent. It definitely scared me last night while I was babysitting and the boys were in bed and I was alone in a different, quite, dark, house. But today I picked it back up and I can see some definite flaws. Whatever. And I have a book at the library, Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, that's waiting for a pickup. It's a collection of short thriller and horror stories and I'm excited to jump into that and pee my pants. I'm not excited to pee my pants, but I'm excited. You know when people have had too much caffeine and they get all jittery and nervous and annoying, that's exactly what my brain is like while typing this up even though I don't think I've ever actually been in one of those moods from too much caffeine. Just too little sleep.

Anyway, I have to pee. And this was all one ramble-y one take post and I should follow Rose's example and just stop. So gnight girls. I miss your faces and I hope you're all doing splendidly. I know Mercy and Laura are because I actually hear from them once in awhile.
<3 Grace

Listen to this beautiful song. 

home

good evening gurls

i think it is at least

um so i'm not gonna lie i havent read any of your posts yet cuz ive had rehearsal all this week and i don't have the blogger app on my phone and Grace really just wants me to write this post and not waste anymore time to read your posts so yup

i've had such a long week yet at the same time i surprised that's almost thursday like tomorrow should be pretty easy/not stressful and then Friday i get to relax and then Saturday I have work and thats eh but Sunday's are my favorite and then one more week of school before HALLOWEEN and hopefully that'll be fun and i wont get possessed or anything and then NOVEMBER MY FAVORITE MONTH although October is my second favorite month and I'm gonna miss all the amazing orange we have right now, but yeah then we get cool, cold, grey, november, my favorite and then can you believe it, Thanksgiving??? Like how??? I'm so excited??? and then after Thanksgiving, I get to start blaring the christmas music and we get to decorate the house and i get to go Christmas shopping and AUUGHHGH I'M SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS Y'ALL ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN AND I CAN'T WAIT, LITERALLY HALLOWEEN-CHRISTMAS IS THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR. 

wowowowow i'm getting so excited just talking about it. wowowowowow. much wow. so much excite. 

Grace, I swear, your laptop has the most confusing mouse-pad thingy ever. 

um so one direction, the spawn of satan, dropped THIS FREAKING SONG ON SPOTIFY LAST NIGHT AT 2AM 

like literally who, who, WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE they didnt even promo it or anything, they just released this little EP with songs that didnt make the album (this song) and remixes of Perfect and Drag Me Down and acoustic versions and tO BE HONEST its hurting me and my grades and my sleeping schedule and i really need to stop stanning this band, theyre ruining. 

and its available to buy on iTunes but not in the US yet, I think it's coming out at 12am in US and I'm so scared and nervous and I just want it on my phone so i can listen to Harry's falsettos for eternity. 

um anyway rosie and laura, you guys ARE coming up to see me in Much Ado About Nothing, correct? 

ok so imma spoil some stuff for you- it's set in a high school in the 80's and Don John is played by a girl so he's now Dona Joan and oh my god augh, Benedick is played by this Musical theatre kid who i ADORE but i mean i don't think he makes the greatest benedick i mean he's good im just scared that y'all arent gonna like it because it's not KENNETH BRANAGH'S version and I mean i still think it's hilarious and funny and the way Kim is directing it is just marvelous and i love it but im afraid y'all arent gonna like it. oh, also Leanoto and Antonio are both girls so they're not Lenota and Antonia but that's not as big of a deal as DONA JOAN but yeah even though i have a tiny role i still manage to come into quiet a few scenes and my two "scenes" are actually pretty funny. especially my first one. 

GAAHH anyway i need to sleep so i'm tired and i have another long day tomorrow so goodbye. i actually managed to write a decent post for once even if i'm too lazy to use proper punctuation but whatever.

Rosie, i'll hear from you tomorrow??

xoxo,

Mercy

Coffee&Jesus.

Happy Tuesday, people of earth!

It's my favorite time of year and even though I have been doing nothing but climbing over mountains of homework lately, I have been in such a good mood. Thank you hormones for being stable for once. :)

THE BEST

Rosie and I need to watch Hocus Pocus soon. I also took the Halloweentown movies out from the library on a nostalgic whim yesterday, and I think Lauren and I are going trick-or-treating on Halloween. I am 12 and I regret nothing.

I'm taking my driver's license test tomorrow morning and I just want to get it over with. Part of me is afraid I'll fail, part of me is hoping that the instructor will take pity on me in my bright red student nurse scrubs and pass me, even if I can't parallel park.

POSTING FALL GIFS TO AVOID MY PROBLEMS WOO

I got to school two hours before class this morning and got my period 15 minutes later. Go me.

#tooblessedtobestressed

I'm going to reply to all of your posts now.

Mercy: Andy Dwyer is love. Andy Dwyer is life. Keep calm and carry on chica.

Same

Rose: Titus Andromidon is love. Titus Andromidon is life. I can't wait until the stars (and our schedules) align so we can introduce Kiefer to Hokie Pokie.

fabulous.

Grace: Taylor Swift is love. Taylor Swift is life. Maybe, if I pass my test tomorrow, I'll drive up and visit you at work. Because I miss your perfect face like hell.

my spirit animal.

Every day, I'm on the go. I have classes and driving lessons and hours spent in the library and choir practice and lunch dates with friends and phone conversations with my male suitor before we go to sleep. But I start off every morning with a hot cup of coffee and my Bible. And I get to pause and prayerfully consider my actions for the day before me. And it's lovely. And I'm so thankful that I live in a country where I'm free to love Jesus and radically surrender my soul to Him.

That's all for today, folks. Mercy, we'll hear from you tomorrow.

--Laura :)

I'm a lazy blogger today.

Today is cold. My fingers are feeling that "we don't want to type right now." if you know what I mean. I really adore autumn (as I've said multiple times before) but I really hate the cold and I'm really upset that winter is hastily approaching. Whatever. Can't do anything to stop it.

So right now, I'm snuggled with Lydia and Ethan and we're home just the tree of us and we're watching Narnia: Prince Caspian. It's fun. We're fun people. We're all so busy these days that we don't spend a ton of time together, and when we do, someone is usually crying over some sort of homework. Or someone else is half asleep from working 30+ hours that week. It's crazy. I've decided that the word 'crazy' is the new word that describes my life. We've moved from 'dysfunctional' to 'crazy' and I'm not sure how I feel about this change. Whatever. Can't do anything to stop it.

So today, instead of trying to come up with my own topic of discussion, I'm just gonna borrow previous points from this week and talk about Andy and Taylor.

Taylor Swift is actually a musical beauty. Her music is magical in the way that so many people can relate to it in so many different ways. Her music is brilliant in the way that Ryan Adams can do a full album cover and make it into something new. Her music is so much fun in the way that one can listen to a song and cry, and then have a dance party to the next track on the album. Maybe I haven't loved all the musical decisions she's made over the years and I definitely think '1989' was a disappointment after 'Red', but whatever. Can't do anything to stop her. She's so funny and real and I want to go to one of her concerts.

And then there's Andy Dwyer. He is bae. Always. The end.

Andy and April are my OTP. If you haven't watched Parks and Recreation yet, please go do it now. Thank you very much. And you're welcome

Anyway. This is long enough right? Don't need to elaborate on this perfection any longer.
<3 Grace

I woke up at 2 in the morning for a side hug.

Well it's Thursday.

Titus Andromidon is my spirit animal

I slept until noon thirty today because I got up at 2 in the morning to drop John off at JFK where he gave me a side hug. A female-parent-freaking side hug. I am 525,600 levels of pissed.

I'm going to reply to your posts.

Grace:

This is what your post made me think of.

I miss Ten now.

Laura:

This song is so stuck in my head.

Mercy:

Andy Dwyer is life.

You and me both Andrew.

Okay guilty pleasure confession time, I'm listening to Taylor Swift. Specifically Red. The album. Not the song. Actually the song right now. But also the whole album. I know I'm really late to this party, but this album is freaking good. I've spent the last 3 years hating Taylor Swift and talking crap her music, but she's actually really talented.

Her lyrics are so great. THEY KILL ME ASDFGHJKL;'

And she's also really pretty.

And a feminist and I love it.

And I really respect her.

I want to hate her.

But I can't.

There I said it.

I've also been listening to a lot of Halsey and Troye Sivan and Paul Simon lately. I've been listening to a lot of music. Here's some of my favorite songs.

Alright, now I need to bounce because I need to sleep. Also, I almost forgot to post...oops.

Grace, we'll hear from you tomorrow!

Gurl please, -Rose

Andy Dwyer

good evening gurls, it's Wednesday

my week

Hannah just got home and I'm ignoring her cuz I need to write this post but I don't know what to post about....

ROSIE I'm literally obsessed with everything Superfruit does, and they just came out with hip hop goes broad 2.0 IT'S SO GOOD I CRY

one of my favorite covers by then because nicki and bey ok enough said

um i don't really have anything to update you all on because I'm still sick, got my period this morning, and one direction is still the #1 thing on my mind most of the time (such a gr8 life i lead, i know) so really my life is the exact same since i last posted except now i'm bleeding from my vagina. 

i have rehearsal tomorrow and friday and then i work on saturday and i'm just like why what am i doing with my life, i do the same stuff over and over and i feel trapped. granted, i do enjoy being in the show i'm in, i'm just so exhausted and i feel dead and tired and engery-less. 

Selena Gomez's new album is so good and I'm only 30 seconds into the first song. goodbye.

OHHHHH and one direction is dropping their single on friday!!! GOODBYE!!!!!!!

 Chris Pratt's character the #1 reason I watch Park's and Rec tbh

so what are you guys all planning on doing for halloween? i'm hopefully going to my friend Meredith's house and i'm dressing up as Miranda (Sings) and we're gonna watch sacry/halloween movies and I'M SO PUMPED but yeah... what about you all??

Anyway, I really should go cuz I don't know what else to say so goodbye.... i leave you with this amazing tom hanks reaction gif from one of my favorite movies 

Rosie, I'll hear from you tomorrow???

xoxo,

mErcy 

(^^summary of how my life is going)

In Which Every Member Of The Foursome Is In A Relationship? Also, Laura Loves Alliteration

Good afternoon, ladies.

This is me currently- happy because life is great, sad because I have midterms to study for.

    I definitely copied Rose by using an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt GIF, but I certainly don't regret it. I miss that show and will have to binge watch it as soon as I have free time again, which according my schedule should be in about two years and seven months.

Ayyyy someone kill me now please!

    It's impossible to describe how totally excited I am to be pursuing the career of my dreams while being in a constant state of dread over every test, clinical, and skills check off on my agenda. Only by the grace of God am I able to keep my head above water while juggling nursing school and a marginal social life.
    I love wearing my scrubs around campus and getting stopped by freshmen nursing majors, who nervously barrage me with questions about what professor to take for biochem and how much poop you see in an actual hospital (the answers to both of those questions: Fleming and a lot). I love being challenged personally and professionally by the nursing faculty and slowly but surely gaining confidence in my chosen career path. I love knowing that even though I am crazy busy and always studying, three years from now I will have my bachelors degree and be working in the field of my dreams, helping to heal other people physically, emotionally and spiritually.
    Anyhow, that's my spiel. I wanted to make note in this post that every member of The Foursome has a significant other? Grace has her male friend, I have mine (yeah, it's Facebook official) and Mercy and Rose are married to each other? Remember when we were all young single Pringles with crushes on Hunter Hayes and various Harry Potter actors? Look where life has taken us in such a short span of time. Wow. Just...Wow. -_-
    I thoroughly enjoyed all of your posts from last week. I would respond to them, but I am entirely too exhausted and need to get up for an 8AM lab tomorrow.
    Also, baby brother John is leaving for his flight to California in the middle of the night and I might not be okay with that.
    I need to sleep. Sorry for the sad excuse for a post that this dwindled down to. I love you all- Mercy, I can't wait to hear from you tomorrow.
--Laura :)