Friday Five: Looking Forward To It

This is my last regularly scheduled edition of Friday Five for the next three months while I'm at camp. Here are five things I'm looking forward to this summer.

1. Change. I've worked with summer camps the past five years, but the same ones each summer. I really think I'll enjoy doing something completely different.
   
   
2. The weather. I can't tell you how excited I am about waking up to 45-degree temperatures every day. I know the days are warm, but they are not 100-degree warm. Makes a difference.
   
   
3. Nature. I love the outdoors. Grew up camping. Since college, I haven't had that much opportunity to go camping or hike, but I'll be doing plenty of that this summer. My goal is to go hiking every morning for my exercise. I'll be eating camp food all summer, so I will definitely need to exercise. And exercising outside is my absolute favorite.
   
   
4. Canada. I'll be leading a small group of 12 people to Toronto, Montreal and Quebec during my week off of camp. I'll be exhausted, but I'm really excited to see these cities. I might even be able to catch a tennis tournament in Toronto.
   
   
5. God's work. Summer camp was in important part of my spiritual development, and I know the same thing goes for hundreds of teenagers that will pass through camp this summer. I'm looking forward to seeing how God works in their lives, in the lives of counselors and my life.

I'll try to update my blog periodically throughout the summer, and definitely after my trip to Canada.

Friday Five: Tagged

It's time for another installment of Friday Five, and I've been tagged, so I'm expanding the original tag.

What FIVE skills or hobbies would you learn if you had unlimited time, money and tools?

1. Become fluent in Spanish and French. With my unlimited time and money, I would live in a Spanish or French-speaking city to truly learn another language. As it appears I'll be moving to Costa Rica in five years for a year-long medical mission trip, I can learn Spanish there.
   
   
2. Travel. I want to visit every country in the world. I would have to have unlimited time and money to accomplish that. I'm making progress on visiting every European country, but not so much with the rest of the world.
   
   
3. Cooking. I cook a lot for someone cooking for one. But I can't improvise or cook without a recipe. I would love to be able to do that! I also limit what I make due the cost of rare ingredients, so having unlimited money would mean I would never have to reject a recipe for that reason again!
   
   
4. Photography. I would love a expensive, fancy camera that took great pictures. I'm tired of my camera that befriends blurriness. I would combine my hobby of traveling with this skill and focus on travel photography. I've always wanted to visit a place I know well, like London, and focus on photography instead of sightseeing.
   
   
5. Learn to sew. I just sewed on a button for the first time a couple of years ago, and that is the only sewing I've ever done. I think it would be fun to make my own clothes, clothes that fit me perfectly.

I tag Wendy and Wendy. The original tag was for only three skills or hobbies, so you don't have to come up with five. Five was pushing it for me.

Friday Five

1. I want one of these cars! I live in a small-ish town, and I could totally drive to and from work, the gym, the grocery store and most shopping establishments in this car. I wish it was a little more affordable.
   
   
2. Still watching Battlestar with my friends. On season two now. It's great to spend time with them since they are moving and will be gone when I get back from camp this summer. Sniff, sniff. On the downside, I spent money on groceries for the week, and I've only cooked once. My Netflix movies aren't getting watched, and the books I checked out from the library on Friday are collecting dust.
   
   
3. I'm leaving for camp in three weeks! I should probably start preparing or it will sneak up on me, more than it already has.
   
   
4. I have mixed feelings about this "Office" spin-off that is going to premier after the Super Bowl. I love the "Office" but lately, haven't felt like it's really on it's game. Doesn't seem the ideal time to start a spin-off. Will one of the characters leave the show for the spin-off or will it be just like the "Office" with a different set of characters? Not convinced. I'm also not convinced that Pam is going to say yes to Jim. Did you see her reactions to the marriage conversation and the fake proposal? She didn't appear excited or ready. Maybe the writers are just messing with us, and she reacted that way so we would think she would say no to this forthcoming proposal, and when she says yes, it's an even better moment. Or she is going to say no because she just got out of long relationship and isn't ready to take that leap again. Who knows. I did love Jim flashing us that ring. He's adorable!
   
   
5. I ate some delicious grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp covered with Fischer & Wieser Mango Ginger Habenero sauce. Their Papaya Lime Serrano sauce is great too. The sauce is crazy expensive, but the ingredients are pretty straight forward. I think I'll make my own version and save money. None of the ingredients are words you can't pronounce, so if you see Fisher & Wieser in the store, jot down the ingredients and make some yourself! I had the sauce on grilled tuna, and it tasted great. The sauce is made in the Hill Country, so it's local.
   

Friday Five

1. I now use the scheduled post feature in Blogger in draft to post my blog. I work on posts throughout the week and when I finish with one, I publish it with a post time of Friday at 6 a.m. On Friday I didn't have to worry about it. Awesome!
   
   
2. I recently created two individual tracks from those annoyingly-long songs with a hidden track after several minutes of silence. One of my favorite SheDaisy songs comes at the end of a Christmas song, which I never get to listen to because it's holiday music and filtered out of my playlists right now, and I because I always hit skip once the silence begins. Not anymore! Follow this guide to create individual tracks in iTunes.
   
   
3. I'm stressing about my job at the camp in New Mexico this summer. It's hard to create a training curriculum for a camp you have never been to. And this camp is unique because each week is the responsibility of a different director, so each week is different. No one really knows what goes on each week on this end of camp because no one has spent an entire summer there. So it's going to be a learning experience.
   
   
4. I've started watching the TV show Battlestar Galactica with Dustin and Eileen. We've watched one or two episodes a night since Sunday. We're about halfway through the first season.
   
   
5. Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and most importantly, LOST, returned Thursday! Thursday is my busiest night of TV watching because I also watch 30 Rock, Scrubs and the Office (and occasionally My Name is Earl.) Good thing I get off work at noon on Fridays so I can catch up! I'm sure you are jealous of my social lifestyle.
   

Tuesday Shuffle

I'm listening to my iPod on shuffle mode, which is almost all I do. These are the last five songs I've listened to.

1. Keith Urban, Raining on Sunday
2. Love Syndicate, Ain't No Sunshine
3. Dido, Thank You
4. Martina McBride and Bob Seger, Chances Are
5. Chris Rice, Hallelujahs

Now it's your turn: Hit that shuffle button, and share the first five songs that play. Editing to make yourself (and your taste in music) sound cooler is frowned upon.

Friday Five: A Week in Food

I've been reading cooking-related blogs recently. I enjoy looking at the pictures of the food, so I decided to give you an idea of what I eat during the week in pictures. The photos aren't great - my camera kept blurring all the close-ups and the lighting in the kitchen is horrible - but it's a visual guide to my week in food.

1. A few weeks I blogged about the anti-inflammatory diet I put myself on, the one that Wendy said made me sound old. Thanks! This is a picture of the blueberry buckwheat pancakes I eat for breakfast every day I exercise. I eat them with butter, powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.
   
   
   
2. I make Rachael Ray's Zucchini-roni Pizza, and I love it! You use jarred roasted red peppers as the sauce, mozzarella cheese and sliced zucchini with Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes as the pepperoni. I can't find prepared whole wheat pizza crust, so next time I'm going to make my own. Anyone have a recipe?
   
   
3. The chili-salmon with zucchini and corn I made this week was a new recipe. I broiled it in the oven. Every time I opened the oven, the smoke detector went off from the heat; there was no smoke. Annoying.
   
   
4. I also used the broiler for this simple pesto pita pizza. I used my own pesto recipe with a little red pepper flakes for flavor and heat. This is a great lunch meal if I make the pesto in advance because it only heats in the broiler for a few minutes.
   
   
5. I've experimented with several tortilla soup recipes and this is my quick-and-easy favorite. I chop an onion, but everything else I dump and heat: canned diced tomatoes, pinto beans and green chiles, water and chicken brother. Crumble chips in the bottom of the bowl and top with cheese.
   
   

Green Challenge

I'm trying something completely different for my Friday Five post this week, so I'm actually blogging on a day other than Friday!

I try to be mindful of my impact on the environment. I recycle, carry my own canvas bags shopping - and this awesome on-the-go, fit-in-your-purse Chico Bag (pictured) - instead of the horrible plastic ones, replace burned out bulbs with CLFs, wash my clothes in cold water, drink tap water instead of bottled water, and walk to work when I can, which hasn't been lately due to the logistics of making it to the gym on time, but I have a plan to remedy that. But I also use paper towels, paper plates and disposable razors. So my new green challenge is to stop using those three products. Not using paper plates will be the easiest. It's just one more dish to wash. No big deal. Not using paper towels will be harder, but that is more about breaking a habit than anything else. I went to Sam's on Saturday and bought a pack of towels that I plan to use instead. So far so good. Whenever I wash towels or sheets, I'll just throw those in with the load. I've always used disposable razors because it seemed ridiculous to spend $10 on a razor and as much or more for new blades. I still think it's ridiculous, but every time I throw a razor away, I feel guilty. I was at Target over the weekend, and they had a razor and three-blade refill package for $10, so it was like getting one item for free. (The thrifty Jamie can't believe I spent so much money on a razor!) Those may seem like small changes, but if everyone makes small changes, it will make a difference. Anyone else have their own green challenge?

Friday Five

1. We took a family photo when I went home during Spring Break. My parents, my aunt and my younger sister are in the picture with me, along with my aunt's dogs. She refused to let us take the photo without them.
   
   
   
   
2. I finished reading Bee Season by Mayla Goldberg. I recommend it. Near the end, it gets a little weird, and the final spelling bee performance was totally predictable, but I enjoyed it. Now I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is vastly inferior to Bee Season. It's not nearly as well written as Bee Season, and I can't get a handle on the characters. The structure of the book is partly to blame - in each chapter the characters are different ages - but I don't feel like I know them. I don't picture them in my head. I don't even picture the actors playing them in the upcoming movie. And the author has used the word resplendent to describe the same male character's appearance twice. Please. I'm enjoying the book, but I'm halfway through and I can't figure out the point.
   
   
3. Someone out in the blogosphere directed me to The Pioneer Woman. If you have some time on your hands, read her series "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels." It's the compelling story of how the author met and married her husband. You won't be disappointed.
   
   
4. I've agreed to go on a blind date. I know. I'm waiting on the guy to contact me. He's has a bit of an advantage in this situation. Due to my work with the United Way, he received at least one email a week from me for six months. It was one-way communication, so he knows a bit of my personality while I know nothing about his. Apparently people try to set him up on blind dates all the time and he refuses. My emails must have been mighty impressive! :-) I'm not excited as much as I am curious.
   
   
5. I always play tennis with Janie when I go to DFW. We played twice over Spring Break, and the last time we played before that was during Christmas break. Our play is erratic due to our inconstancy, so we made a pact to play with other people before the next time we play together. I am playing next with with a guy at work that played in college. I'm expecting to underwhelm him with my "talent." If he can stand it, hopefully we'll start playing on a regular basis. I played in high school for those of you out there that didn't know that. That also explains why I love watching tennis. I'm upset at the TV coverage of the tennis match that just ended. They only aired the final, but there were several exciting matches along the way that an American TV audience would have enjoyed. For instance, every time Andy Roddick plays Roger Federer everyone talks about his chance to break his losing streak. Federer always wins and keeps the streak alive. Not this time. Roddick beat Federer and no one saw it. I know all of you are sad about missing that match.
   
   

Friday Five: Saturday Edition

I'm late in posting my regular Friday "column" due to a shotgun trip I made to the camp I'm working at this summer. I went up on Thursday and left on Friday. That sure is a boring 5-6 hour drive.

1. Here are a few pictures of where I'll be living this summer. I wish I had taken more, but I meant to leave after lunch, and it was 5 p.m. before I left, so I took a few quick pictures on my way out. I'm excited to spend my summer there!
   
   
   
2. I've been listening to the new album by Zooey Deschanel, the actress from Elf, Failure to Launch and Almost Famous, among others. The album is She & Him: Volume One. It's the perfect spring soundtrack. When I listen to, I envision a couple wandering around Paris on a sunny, spring day. Part of the reason that image comes to mind is because some of the songs sound like the waltz Julie Delpy plays in Before Sunset. I bought it with a gift card, but I would spend money on it.
   
   
3. I like to discover new music anytime I have gift cards. If I end up not liking it, it's not as big of a deal because I didn't waste my money on it. It addition to She & Him, I also bought two albums by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Another good purchase. Her music is a mix of folk rock, southern Gospel and other genres. Of the two albums - Nothing but the Water and This is Somewhere - I would recommend This is Somewhere, but my favorite songs are the title tracks to Nothing but the Water.
   
   
4. My experience as an alternate delegate at the county convention was uneventful. I spent a couple hours in the morning waiting in line to get my credentials, then spent a couple hours sitting at the convention. My precinct didn't need to call up any alternates, so I left when they started voting on chairs and other things. Alternates can't vote. It was neat to be part of the process though.
   
   
5. I'm reading "Bee Season" right now and enjoying it. Up next is "The Time Traveler's Wife." Anyone read either of those?
   

Friday Five

It's been almost a month since my last post! I don't know if I have any readers left, but if I do, I plan to write a Friday Five post every week (until the summer). My life isn't super exciting, so I'll have to be creative with what I put on the blogosphere.

1. I'll be spending my Saturday at my democratic county convention as an alternate delegate for Barack Obama. By living in a Republican town, in a Republic precinct, I became an automatic delegate just by staying at the caucus until it was over. The whole process is fascinating to me, so the county convention should be interesting. I have to check in from 10 a.m.-noon and get my credentials, and then return at 12:15 when the doors open. I don't know what time the convention starts, but I've been told to plan on being there until 3 or 4 p.m. We can't bring food or drinks into the caucus (what is that about?), but I did make a trip to the library today. I've received two postcards in the mail about the convention, a recorded phone call from Barack Obama and a call from a someone who attended my precinct caucus. I never get any political mail, so this is a whole new experience for me.
   
   
2. I'm addicted to Danish cinema! I've watched four Danish films since Spring Break, and another one arrived in the mail today (love that Netflix!) My new "celebrity crush" is Nikolah Lie Kaas. You've never heard of him! I'm aghast! :-) (I tried to add a photo, but Blogger wouldn't let me.)
   
   
3. I'm on a self-title anti-inflammatory diet. I've started exercising again, but it seems like any exercise results in the tendinitis in my foot recurring, not necessarily full force, but I'm aware of my left foot the way you are with something is wrong. Make sense. So I did a lot of research, and I'm incorporating foods that reduce or prevent inflammation into every meal, or attempting to. Omega-3s are a great anti-inflammatory, so I had salmon four times this week. Pineapple has an anti-inflammatory ingredient in it, and most produce, especially green foods with chlorophyll in them are good for inflammation. I also made buckwheat pancakes that are an anti-inflammatory powerhouse!
   
   
4. I'm crazy busy at work, which is a nice change. The preparations for my trip to Canada and summer camp planning is almost too much work at once. Today I even lost track of time and was happily working along after hours. I've adopted the work-to-live mentality of Europe (instead of the live-to-work mentality so many Americans have) and always leave work on time, especially on Fridays when I get off at noon.
   
   
5. One of the new exercise classes I'm taking is cardio circuit. You spend 1:30 at each circuit. By the way, ever tried doing push ups for a minute and a half? It's a lot longer than you think. Anyway, the instructor claims that the class burns 1,500 calories. The instructor is a athletic male, so that might be true for him, but I don't buy it. I am exhausted at the end of the class, and usually have to take breaks in the middle of multiple circuits. It burns a lot of calories, but 1,500 in 60 minutes? I'm only taking the class every other week due to the high impact involved. Gotta keep that tendinitis away!
   

Pesto Recipe

As per ABL's request, here is the pesto recipe I've used. This was my first attempt to make pesto, so I know there are probably better recipes out there. If you have one, share!

1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed

1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted (I skip the toasting step)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 small clove garlic, peeled and chopped (I use the refrigerated kind)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons water

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the pesto: combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth (you may need to add a splash of water so that it blends well).

The first time I made pesto, I bought a cup of pine nuts. The next three times I made it, I only had to buy basil. The other ingredients I always have on hand. This is much cheaper than buying the expensive store-bought kind.

Random Tuesdays

''I am totally overwhelmed with joy and sparkles and fireworks!'' - Marion Cotillard to the press corps backstage after her win for Best Actress at the Oscars. How can you not be happy for her after reading that?

I haven't had caffeine since Feb. 6, and I sure am sleeping better at night. My next step is to stop drinking carbonation all together. Sprite Zero and Diet A&W are my friends right now.

Have you ever made pesto from scratch? It's surprisingly easy and cheap. I'm trying out a cilantro pesto tonight.

I've added a new role to my job. I will be managing the camp my company owns and operates in New Mexico. So from May 27-Aug. 8 (ish) I will be living in the mountains of New Mexico working with counselors and camp directors. This new position also pays! I will be doing this in addition to my other duties, including taking alumni to Canada in July and my work with the United Way. Summer camp was important to my spiritual development, so I'm happy to do my part to make sure other teens having a good camp experience. If you are looking for a place to send fourth graders - high school grads this summer for a week, I can help you out! You can come with them and visit me!

Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

A long title and a long movie. The running time was two hours and forty minutes. After Jesse was assassinated, I tried to will the movie to end, but it didn't work. I enjoyed the movie; it had gorgeous cinematography and good acting (Casey Affleck is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor), but it was too long. Maybe I shouldn't have watched it at night, but I really think it could have been reduced to two hours and been just as good.

Extra long films appear to be epidemic right now. I'm torn about my own feelings about this. On one hand, I think filmmakers should be able to make the movies they want to make and viewers can accept or reject that vision. If studios make all the decisions about movies, we'd live in a wasteland of films designed to appease the lowest common denominator. Who wants that? But the viewer in me wishes filmmakers had advisers or studios that called them out on their indulgences, especially the ones that are somehow above the system. No Country is another film that could have shaved 20 minutes off its two-hour run time. I haven't seen There Will be Blood, but it's 158 minutes - two hours and 38 minutes! I doubt that every frame was necessary.

And Juno is a fun, enjoyable movie, but the first third of it is overwritten and therefore comes across as fake and unrealistic. Screenwriters are always going to fall in love with their words. Someone needs to tell them when enough is enough. Honest to blog. (That is a quote from Juno, in case you were wondering.) It doesn't help when self-indulgent movies or parts of movies are nominated for prestigious awards, like this year.

Anyway, that is my soapbox for today.

(My spell check isn't working, so I apologize if there were errors in this post.)

Walking

I've started walking to work again, and I love it! I bought some cheap but comfy walking shoes so I don't have to factor in footwear every morning. I love the fresh air and additional exercise. If I walk home for lunch, which I usually do, my walking totals 32 minutes. And I'm saving on gas. My savings will add up if the price of gas keeps climbing.

One of my favorite things about living in Europe was walking everywhere, and I'm glad to have it back in my life. If you live close enough to work to walk or ride your bike, I suggest you give it a try.

Best of 2007: Books

I'm at home watching football - the Seahawks vs. the Packers (so much snow!) - and I decided it was a good time to write about my favorite books of 2007. Nothing fits with football quite like literature.

This list is the hardest one for me to make. I keep a list of the books I read, otherwise I wouldn't be able to tell you what I read last week. I also use Amazon.com to compliment my memory when summarizing books. If only Amazon could remind me what I thought about the book right after I finished reading it. I might need to add notes to supplement my list.

Here is my list of the best books I read in 2007 in chronological order.

• City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. This is a nonfiction book about Venice with the mysterious fire of the Fenice Opera House the main character, besides Venice. If you've been to Venice, you'll probably enjoy reading this book about life in this unique city.
  
  
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. I read this book in elementary school and decided to read it again when I found out Disney was making a movie out of it. The relationship between Jesse and Leslie is written so well that you can't help but be heartbroken by the way the story plays out.
  
  
• Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. Almost nothing like the movie, this book is about an American couple that lives in Italy during the summer and holidays and their experience. Being someone that has lived in a different country and adapted to a different culture, I enjoyed reading about someone else's experience.
  
  
• Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I remember liking this book. I remember feeling engaged with the characters and enjoying the story and writing. But I had to read the synopsis on Amazon to remember what it was about. I still can't remember any details. I still feel like it should be on my list.
  
  
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Anytime I read a book that has been translated to English from another language, I wonder if I'm missing something in the translation because other languages have expressions we don't have and words can be translated different ways. How do translators make their choices? That won't stop me from reading translations, but it's always on my mind. This is one such book. You've got sex, war crimes, literacy and guilt in this book. What more can you ask for? Oh, a movie version with Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet! Excellent casting choices by the way.
  
  
• His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, the Amber Spyglass. Just like the Harry Potter series, each book in this series was better than the its predecessor. All the talk about these books and the movie being anti-religion are missing the point. The story is about children fighting an oppressive, corrupted authority and making huge sacrifices to do what is right for the world. It just happens that the authority in the book is organized religion, but it could be any authority with corrupted values and leaders . The heroine Lyra is a great character, and it's nice to read a children's fantasy book with a female heroine. If you saw the movie, the actress did a great job of personifying Lyra's attitude and strength.
  
  
• A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini. The author of the Kite Runner has created another great book about living in Afghanistan, this time following the lives of two women through several decades and leadership changes in the country.
  
  
• Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. Here is what I wrote about the book after I read it around Thanksgiving. Under the Banner of Heaven is an intriguing study of Mormon Fundamentalism. The author dissects the case of the two Lafferty brothers who murdered their brother's wife and child because God told them to do it and places it in the context of Mormon Fundamentalism. To understand Mormon Fundamentalism, you have to understand the history of Mormonism and why the Fundamentalists have broken off from the official Mormon church. It all seems to boil down to polygamy. The book was fascinating. Occasionally he made statements that I wish were followed by a source ID, but he provided a lengthy reference list at the end of the, so I guess that counts.
  
  
• Atonement by Ian McEwan. It look me a while to get into this book because I don't generally like long, narrative passages, but once the exposition and initial character development were out of the way, I didn't want to put the book down. McEwan is a great descriptive author because I read all his words and can clearly form pictures in my head. (Literature snobs, don't hate me, but I have a tendency to skip long, descriptive passages.)

What great books did you read this year?

Best of 2007: Movies

I had a hard time picking my favorite movies of the year. I saw a lot of movies, courtesy of Netflix of course, but few wowed me enough to put them on this list or recommend them to other people. I saw several movies over the Christmas break, including potential Oscar-nominated movies, but I had a hard time putting those on my list (I'll get to that in a minute.)

Here is my list, in no particular order.

1. Waitress staring Keri Russell. I missed seeing this in the theatre due to it's limited theatrical run in my market. I finally watched it on DVD. I've already blogged about, so I won't say much more. It's a movie with heart, which I always like.
   
   
2. Once. Another movie I've already blogged about. A non-traditional musical with plenty of heart and a realistic resolution, even if it's not one we "want." I love the song "Falling Slowly" the two characters play together that starts their relationship.
   
   
3. Jesus Camp. As a person that helps plan and run a Christian camp, this movie might be more interesting to me than you. The film focuses on a summer Bible camp for children as young as five. I don't want to live in a Christian church state (church states don't work anywhere else in the world, so why would we want one here?) and the goal of this group alarms me a little. Regardless of where you stand of the role of religion in politics and government, you should find this doc intriguing.
   
   
4. Bourne Ultimatum. I love Jason Bourne. I've read all the books, which are more of a jumping off point for the movies instead of an adaption. A lot of people don't like Greengrass' quick-cut editing, but I think it illuminates Bourne's role as the weapon against anyone he faces. One of the best action flicks I've seen since, I don't know, the Bourne Supremacy. :-)
   
   
5. Zodiac. If I expected this to be an adrenaline rush like the Bourne Ultimatum, I might have been disappointed. I'd read enough to realize this was more of a slow-boiling, psychological thriller. I thought it worked. Seeing the emotional and psychological toll trying to find a killer took on difference people involved in the investigation was fascinating.
   
   
6. Atonement. I was not expecting the artful direction of this film. Gorgeous film! I read the book and the film took advantage of it's medium well to tell the story. I loved how we would see part of scene as witnessed by one character and then see the full scene without losing the scene's impact or significance. This method also helped the audience understand why Briony did the things she did because we saw what she saw. Atonement is a good story with good actors beautifully filmed.
   
   
7. Hairspray! This was the best experience I had at the movies all year. I didn't know much about the play or the music. The movie starts with the in-your-face "Good Morning Baltimore" sung by Tracy. At first I was unsure of what to think, but by end of the song, I was sold. It took me to the "Elephant Love Medley" to feel that way about Moulin Rouge the first time I saw it, but Hairspray accomplished that with the first song. I left this moving smiling and humming the songs. I saw it again in the theatre and bought it on DVD the first day it came out.

Over the Christmas holidays I saw Juno, Sweeney Todd and No Country for Old Men. None of them made my final list. Why? It was a mix of high expectations and bleak, dark subjects. Juno is not dark. Juno is uplifting and funny. However, the reviews I read for this film were so glowing that I expected something magical. What I saw instead was your basic, feel-good comedy/drama that is being touted as the most original work to ever come along. Obviously the critics have never watched an episode of Gilmore Girls. However pop-culture happy, witty and snappy the dialogue on Gilmore Girls was, it still seemed natural. With Juno, especially in the beginning, it didn't seem real. The movie couldn't recognize it's own limitations and tried too hard.

I couldn't put the book No Country for Old Men down when I started reading because I had to know what happened. And despite the fact that I knew who lived and who died, the Coen brothers set up scenes and chases so well, I was tense and anxious during the movie. But something about the conclusion, when the Sheriff is processing everything that has happened and his role in it, rubbed me the wrong way. I thought the same thing as times during the book, but because there was so much inner-monologue throughout the the book, it didn't take away from my overall experience. With the movie it did. And the movie was too long; near the end I was waiting for it to be over. Well made but hard to like, like Sweeney Todd.

The dreary art direction fit the tone and spirit of the movie; Tim Burton was the perfect person to make this movie. I wasn't bothered by the lack of singing talent of Depp and Bonham-Carter. It's the character of Sweeney Todd that I don't like. He has a valid reason for wanting revenge, but that is all that matters to him. Does he care about the welfare of his daughter? Only if it helps him get revenge against the person that ruined his life. I didn't like him any more than I liked the villian, which is problematic. Maybe I'm not supposed to, but I doubt it. It's hard to not like a movie that is as well made as this, but I don't.

New Year's Resolution

I don't usually make these, but last year I got out of the habit of writing in my happy list, and I want to be more consistent this year. Keeping a happy list serves multiple purposes. The most obvious is that the list helps me focus on the joy in my life and not the negativity. I've always been a glass-half-full person, and a great way to express that is by keeping a list of things that make me happy. The list is the closest thing I have to a journal, and the happy list is probably better because it focuses on anything and everything that I take joy in. So an entry like "kettle corn" is followed by something like "family that will love and support you, no matter what." Anyone interested can read my happy list; it's meant to be shared. It's also a good snapshot of my life. I've given personalized happy lists as gifts to my friends, and I'm in the process of entering everything into the computer. Even though the idea came from Janie, it's been part of me since I was a junior in high school.

Anyway, all that to say, I didn't write in my happy list as much as I would have liked in 2007. Sometimes it was a matter of not having my list with me when something came up. More often than not I just didn't think about it. Part of keeping it up is habit, and I lost that. I tried carrying the list in my purse so I usually had it with me, but that plan backfired. It is my goal to write consistently in my happy list. I started a new book for a new year, so I'm heading the right direction.

Whether we live in the same city, only exchange emails or you read my blog anonymously, feel free to ask me what I've written in my happy list lately. Hopefully the answer will be "Plenty!"

And I encourage you to keep your own list. It can start with anything. Next time you laugh, write down what made you laugh. Mine started because I opened the songbook right to the page I wanted. (Remember when we had songbooks in church?) I went home that day and started writing in a spiral notebook. More than 10 years later I'm still writing.

Best of 2007: TV Moments

My year-end posts start with the best TV moments of the year. I have used memory aids for this list, mainly b/c I didn't want to forget about the spring of 2007 with the new fall season fresh on my mind.

Here goes, in no particular order, after the first one.

• The "flash forward" on LOST. ABC made a mistake deciding to air the first six exposition episodes followed by a lull of reruns, but when LOST came back, it came back great. And the season finale was some of the best television I watched all year. HEROES has all the pop culture good will right now, but it can't come close to LOST in terms of quality. (By the way, if you want an 8 minute, 15 second recap of LOST, check out this video. Informative and entertaining. The link is to the ABC website. The video you want is "Catch up on LOST." Female narrator.)
  
  
• Friday Night Lights, anytime Connie Britton is on screen.
  
  
• Banter between Marc and Amanda on Ugly Betty.
  
  
• Craig T. Nelson on My Name is Earl. Glad Earl is out of prison, but I will miss Nelson's incompetent warden.
  
  
• Jack shoots Curtis on 24. Poor Jack. I didn't actually finish last season of 24, but the beginning was great, especially Jack having to shoot a friend and fellow government agent.
  
  
• "Oceanic flight 815 was shot down by..." as part of the Intersect info on Chuck. I enjoy when current shows reference other current shows. Chuck started to gel near the end of the first segment of episodes. Here's hoping the strike ends soon enough for us to watch more new episodes this season.
  
  
• Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock. Watch one of his funniest scenes.
  
  
  
  
  
• "Slapsgiving" and any slaps that took place during 2007. The "Slap Bet" on How I Met Your Mother is hilarious. These guys swing away when they get an opportunity to slap each other. And this episode managed to make the slap funny even though we knew it was coming. Even better was the closing song Marshal wrote for the occasion. Check it out!
  
  
  
• Lorelai sings "I Will Always Love You" to Luke on Gilmore Girls. Lauren Graham is fabulous!
  
  
  
• Booth and Bones kiss!
  
  
  
  
• Pam confesses her feelings to Jim; Jim asks Pam out on a date! Watch Pam's speech and follow the link for Jim's response. I've noticed that links to specific videos on the NBC website aren't always accurate, so I apologize in advance if it's the wrong clip.
  
  
  
  

I think that about does it for TV moments. Did I miss something from your favorite TV show?

End of the Year Posts

As the year comes to a close, I will be compiling several lists. I expect to include my favorite books, movies and TV moments. The majority of "Oscar-caliber" movies haven't opened here or are opening this weekend, so I don't know when I'll get around to that list.

Friday is my last day of work until January 2, 2008. I can't believe it's almost 2008!

Happy holidays, and have a safe trip!

Once

If you missed seeing the movie Once, you can rent it or buy it today. The "art house musical" won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It stars two musicians who get to know each other through music. It's a very heartfelt movie.

Also, check out this video! It's Indiana University's a cappella group Straight No Chaser.