There's a First Time for Everything

The summer has been going along smoothly. Time moves so slow up here. I talk about things that happened at the beginning of the week, and they seem so far away I can barely remember them.

It finally started raining, and we had our first campfires two weeks ago. We got six inches of rain in four days this week. The forest needs it, but that quantity is bad for the camp because activities have to be postponed.

We had a great week. Some drama of course, but overall, a fun, unique week. How did I end it? While the campers were getting ready to leave, I was firing an employee. Yuck. First time I ever had to do that, and hopefully the last. It gets worse. This person didn't have a car, so I had to wake her up and let her know so she could get a ride back with someone that was leaving camp today. Not ideal circumstances. I'm comfortable with the decision, however unhappy it makes me, and I keep telling myself I had to do what was best for the camp, even if it was difficult. This whole camp experience is definitely beneficial and extremely educational.

In more upbeat news, I'm getting a break from this camping life and leaving for Canada on Thursday. I'm leaving my counselor unsupervised, which is hard because they are so exhausted. They are a good group and I don't worry about them too much, but because they are so exhausted, it will be easier for them to be lazy. They'll be OK. I'm taking 12 people to Toronto, Montreal and Quebec. It should be fun!

Nadal won Wimbledon! I so wish I could have seen it! And Venus won! My two favorite tennis players won my favorite tennis tournament.

Time to get back to work. Have a great day!

A Camping Life for Me

I've been at camp for a week now, but today is the first full day of camp with campers. There are 60 4th-8th graders running around making life interesting. My day has been easy. I've had plenty of time to get work done, check email, and blog. This afternoon I might watch a movie. Who knows! Every night that I put on long pants and a sweatshirt, I smile. And I enjoy looking at a sky full of stars every night.

We are in extreme fire danger, so campfire is out, but we do simulate a campfire using flashlights. I think tonight is our first time to truly do that. I took the counselors up there last week, but we just used spotlights.

So overall, I think I'm enjoying myself. Of course, it's only day one of week one of nine, but still. I was worried about orientation with the counselors because all of them have been campers and know more about the camp than I do. But it went well. We went hiking and got lost as a group, which is much better than getting lost on a mountain by yourself, like I did a few weeks ago.

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.

Update

I really am trying to write more frequently. I'm just not that interesting. Here's a few things I've been up to recently.

• Saw the Blue Man Group. That's a fun, unique way to spend an evening. I liked the interactive elements and the variety. I was expecting to see more paint though.
  
  
• Spent the weekend in DFW to attend Melanie's wedding. It was great to see friends from college I don't see regularly.
  
  
• Saw the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? while in Dallas. Basic synopsis: Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping choir tour the country encouraging people to shop responsibly and refocus Christmas so it's about Jesus and being with family and not about what gifts you give and receive. Good message, but Billy is a bit too fanatical to be effective.
  
  
• Watched the movie Waitress, with Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion, last night. The writer/director and co-star Adrienne Shelly was murdered before the movie premiered at Sundance to rave reviews. That information influences how you view the movie. Watching her character as a happy bride was a little bittersweet. I recommend the movie. It's tone is a little unique, so you might have to adjust to the style of acting.
  
  
• I've given up caffeine. On Fridays, I will treat myself to a breakfast burrito from Josie's (yummy) and a Diet Dr. Pepper.
  
  
• I read Under the Banner of Heaven, an intriguing study of Mormon Fundamentalism. The author dissects the case of the two Lafferty brothers who murdered one of their other 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. The author, Jon Krakauer, also wrote Into the Wild, which has been made into a movie directed by Sean Penn.
  
  
• I've been keeping up with the writer's strike. Did you know the WGA was striking? Right now most people probably don't. We've entered the usual rerun holiday slumber. Come January and February, when shows run out of new episodes, anyone that watches TV will notice. The Office has been in reruns since November. Fox has already decided to postpone Day 7 of 24 indefinitely so it can air uninterrupted. There is a chance the writers will not cross picket lines to write for awards shows like the Golden Globes and Oscars. Crazy times. I support the writers, but I wish both sides would come to a solution.
  
  
• I've started wearing heels again! My foot is reacting great! Next week: heels and exercise! Whoo-hoo!
  
  
• I'm trying really hard to think of something fun or cool I've done lately. Last night I had a dance party with a three-year old. Does that count?
  

Friday Five: Thanksgiving

I could just list things I'm thankful for until I run out or have to leave, but in keeping my my inconsistent Friday Five tradition, I'm limiting my list to five things I'm thankful for right now.

1. Family. My family wasn't perfect, but I knew growing up that my parents loved me. That gave me and my sister a self confidence that comes from being loved for who you are and not who you will become or what you look like. And that is a great gift.
   
   
2. Friends. Everyone has different levels of friends, and I'm thankful for all of them. But I'm most thankful for the friendships I know will last forever, and those people that bring out the true me when I'm with them.
   
   
3. iPods, TiVos, HDTV. I've had an iPod for three-four years, but it's something I can't live without. It's changed the way I listen to music, just like the TiVo has changed the way I watch TV. HDTV is something I've just experienced this year, but there is nothing better than watching Tony Romy and the Dallas Cowboys win football games (which I'm also thankful for) on a large, flat-screen HDTV. If only I had enough money to own that technology myself.
   
   
4. Weather. I love this cold front! I was not looking forward to an 80-degree Thanksgiving. It's so much harder to listen to Christmas music when you are wearing short sleeves and driving with your windows rolled down. But Mother Nature to the rescue! Other than when it's snowing, cold and sunny is my favorite weather. It was snowing at Texas Stadium yesterday, but 15 miles SW at my parents' house, it was just sleeting. But it was cold everywhere, and that is what I'm thankful for.
   
   
5. Things that make me laugh out loud. It doesn't matter if it's what I see on TV or the movies, what I read in books, listen to on the radio, or hear my friends say. Sometimes it's just the craziness that is life. But if it makes me laugh out loud, I'm thankful for it. What would like be like without laughter.

What are you thankful for today?

Silence

Those of you that only watch mainstream American movies, have you noticed how there is almost never any silence? It's almost like the studios are afraid that if there isn't dialogue or an intense action sequence (think Jason Bourne) the audience will lose interest.

I thought of this over the weekend while watching the movie "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring." This Korean film has two main characters. Occasionally a third person enters the story to progress it, but mainly it's a two-person movie. And the characters are Buddhist monks living on a floating monastery in the middle of nowhere. Guess what? Minimal dialogue. I remember hearing one of the characters speak, and I suddenly realized I was watching a 90 minute film that had 30 minutes of dialogue at most, probably considerably less. And dialogue wasn't necessary. The movie was able to communicate everything it needed to through other elements. It seemed the the silence gave me the opportunity to question what was happening and how it was effecting the characters. The director let the movie unfold instead of telling me what was happening.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to everyone, but if you want to see a perfect example of silence being the right choice in a movie, watch the Best of Youth. The closing scene in that movie is perfect, and it would have been ruined with words. (Don't forget that movie is six hours long. Jaime started watching it around 10 p.m. one evening, which I thought was an odd choice. Turns out she forgot it was so long. Originally it was an Italian miniseries.)

General Supreme

Sorry I haven't been consistent with my writing lately. I promise I'm trying!

Anyway, in the last two weeks I've had the opportunity to see General Colin Powell and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I helped plan the event with Powell because my employer brought him here to conclude our 50th anniversary celebration. Boy am I glad that event is over. My work load dropped considerably after the event, and now I'm back to finding ways to fill my time. The local law school brought O'Connor, and it was free for everyone. She didn't charge for her appearance, and all other costs were paid for by a law school alum.

Colin Powell was great. He was quite funny. He was scheduled to talk for 45 minutes and he went about 65 minutes. Then he answered a few prepared questions. He talked about world events, the military, what it was like being in public service, what it was like suddenly being out of public service, characteristics and leadership/management styles of each President he had the opportunity to work with, pretty much everything you expect and hope someone who has served in all the areas he has served will talk about. Plus, plus, plus. And he did a great job of incorporating my employer's mission statement into his talk. Perfect!

Justice O'Connor wasn't quite as great. She talked about the importance of democracy at home and abroad and how important an independent judiciary is to that democracy. It makes perfect sense she would talk about that, but that is all she talked about. She didn't talk about what it felt like to be the first female justice on the US Supreme Court, she didn't talk about being on the Court at all. She's become a spokesman for an independent judiciary since her retirement, but I was disappointed her talk was so short (maybe 10 minutes) and that was the only topic. It was a great opportunity to hear her, but I was disappointed. If I'd paid to hear her, I'd be upset. But for free, I'm just glad I had the opportunity to hear her.

__________________

I finished reading The Namesake last night. I thought it was great! I've never read the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories because I don't like short stories - by the time I'm interested in the story and involved with the characters, the story is over - but the book was well written.

__________________

I got a great hair cut today! I've been going to the same hairdresser for a while now. She can't give me the perfect hair cut I want - no one can - but she does a great job. And today she gave me the best haircut so far! I hope I still like it next week.

_________________

I had to GP on Tuesday for Thanksgiving. I'll spend Wednesday afternoon and evening making pies an deviled eggs. I always see movies with my Mom and Aunt, and we'll probably see August Rush and Enchanted. I've heard great things about Amy Adams' performance in Enchanted, so I'm excited to see it. I love the scene in the trailer when James Marden's character starts to burst into song and he's run over my cyclists in Central Park! (By the way, that guy needs a new agent; he's always the guy that never gets the girl. Think about it: Superman Returns, the Notebook, X-Men.) My boss told me to take a day off as thanks for all my work with the United Way, so I'm taking the Monday after Thanksgiving off.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Rosemary's Baby

If you missed Thursday's episode of 30 Rock, follow this link to watch it. If you don't laugh out loud during Tracy's therapy session when Jack (Alec Baldwin) starts impersonating Tracy's family, I don't think we can be friends. I mean, how can you not find that funny?

Homecoming 2007

I had a great weekend in Abilene. Check out Rachel's blog if you want to see pictures from the weekend. Brent's fiance Jenny is adorable

We saw the Homecoming musical AIDA, and it was fantastic, like usual.

We ate at Sharon's BBQ, which serves the exact same food as Joe Allen's without the two-hour wait. That potato salad sure is yummy.

Rachel already mentioned this on her blog, but we want all the GATA pledges from 1998 to return to homecoming next year for our 10-year pledging anniversary. If you are a Preying Mantis, check out this new blog and get connected.

Jaime A. has finished nursing school and is blogging again. Catch up with her today!

Fall has officially arrived! We had our first freeze on Sunday night and it was so cold on the way to work in the morning. Refreshing! The leaves are even starting to change colors slightly.

Homecoming

Who is going to ACU Homecoming this weekend? I'll be there, along with Joe and Rachel V., Jeremy H. and Brent W. Rachel and I will also be at GATA Breakfast. Rachel and I want to get 100 percent attendance at GATA Breakfast in 2008, the 10-year anniversary of our pledge class. Start spreading the word, and make plans to attend!

Holler in the comments and let me know if you'll be around. You can find us at the Parade on the east side of Campus Court near the Ad. Building.

I have any extra ticket to see AIDA on Saturday night if anyone is interested in it. I can't remember the exact price, but it's between $10-15.

See you this weekend!

Friday Five

Against all evidence to the contrary, I will continue updating my blog at least once a week, believing a few people out there actually care about me. :-)

1. Prayer is powerful and effective. A student where I work was diagnosed with a brain tumor, apparently the most severe case you can have. It's been amazing to see the community where I work and the entire Christian community petition God to heal him. He went to Plano for treatment, and more than 100 people from here have traveled there to support him and his family. His tumor-removal surgery was successful and he should be on his path to healing now. I don't know how people without a Christian community survive tragedy.
   
   
2. My friends bought me an iPod Nano! Technically I'm paying for most by providing free babysitting four times, but I think that trade is in my favor. It's so pretty and small. I'm almost afraid to touch it. It has a color screen and plays video, things my outdated current iPod don't do. And I bet the battery will allow me to listen to music all day long at work, something my current iPod, even with a new battery, doesn't do.
   
   
3. Tony Romo and Co. narrowly escaped defeat Monday night to set up a contest of unbeaten football teams Sunday against the New England Patriots. I always have faith in the Cowboys, but they will have to play perfect to win this game. Never doubt.
   
   
4. I've been giving Pushing Daises, Private Practice and Dirty, Sexy Money a chance on Wednesday nights, but so far I don't love any of them. It's not like when I watched Ugly Betty for the first time last year, and laughed and cried in the pilot, and probably the next four episodes and was addicted. It's not like Friday Night Lights, where I started watching episodes online and couldn't stop, even with a laptop screen. It's not like the incredible 24, ALIAS and LOST pilots where I couldn't wait for next week and asked everyone I knew if they watched the same shows. I think I like Chuck best so far, but even though I enjoy it and think the character/actor Chuck is adorable, the show doesn't make me laugh out loud. Any thoughts?
   
   
5. Don't forget to set your TiVo to record Friday Night Lights tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC. No excuses! I recommend the show even though I don't like the plot twist introduced in the season premier. But the show is so good, that storyline is no excuse not to watch the show.
   

Have a good weekend!

Friday Five

I don't think anyone reads my blog anymore because I post so sporadically, but I'm committed to bringing back the Friday Five, so there will be at least one post a week.

1. Diet Dr. Pepper is evil. With the exception of a few phases, I've never been much of a soda drinker. I officially decided to switch to diet a few years ago, and since that time, my consumption has drastically increased. Why? Drinking Diet Dr. Pepper feels like a free pass because it doesn't have any calories.
   
   
2. I really want to see the movie Lars and the Real Girl staring Ryan Gosling. For those of you that didn't see his Oscar-nominated performance in Half Nelson last year, you probably know him as Noah Calhoun from The Notebook. In Lars, Ryan's character thinks that a blow-up doll is his girlfriend and his family and community go along with the charade to help him deal with his issues. Sounds like it could be horrible, but the trailer looks cute and sweet. And I've read good things about it.
   
   
3. The Cowboys and 4-0! It's so much more enjoyable when your team is winning! And when your quarterback is an exciting and cute as Tony Romo. Oh, and watching the games on HD TV is my new favorite thing. Strangely, Fox does not offer HD in this market - even though all the other local channels do and the national broadcasts allude to Fox being in HD - so I can't watch every game in HD. Man can you tell the difference!
   
   
4. Why do professional athletes keep disgracing their sports and our country? It's not just professional athletes, like Marion Jones, Michael Vick and Floyd Landis. Seven UT football players have been arrested since June. And I'm sure there are stories about high school athletes to add to this. It's sad.
   
   
5. Are you watching Friday Night Lights tonight? If not, you need to TiVo it. Also, check out 30 Rock on Thursdays. Both shows are great and need bigger audiences.

Have a good weekend!

Saturday Seven

I apologize for not blogging with any consistency lately. I'm sure all of my readers - the whole handful of you - are upset about this. Which reminds me, if you didn't watch the Emmy-award-winning season of 30 Rock last year, you should check it out this season when it premiers on Oct. 4.

Next week is TV premier week! Woo-hoo! I'm most excited about the hour-long premier of the Office on Thursday, and the next three weeks of hour-long episodes of the Office. I'm actually babysitting Thursday, so I will have to time-shift and watch all four hours of TV I TiVo on Thursday on Friday afternoon (or late Thursday). The show that is generating the most buzz - Pushing Daises on ABC - doesn't even premier for another week. Annoying!

Anyway, my topic today is not TV, but movies. Read below to find out what seven movies I am anticipating the most.

1. Atonement staring Keira Knightly and James McAvoy. Keira reunited with her Pride and Prejudice director Joe Wright for an adaptation of Ian McEwan's popular novel. Buzz on this is super positive, with many saying it is a lock for best picture and best actor and maybe best actress. And adapted screenplay of course.
   
   
2. No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers return with this faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's brutal novel. I started reading this book and couldn't put it down, read it in one night. And it's a bloodbath. It's generating very positive word-of-mouth as well.
   
   
3. The Golden Compass. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig star in this adaption of the first of three books in Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy. I just finished the final book in this series, and each book was better than the one that proceeded it. If you can overlook the anti-religion theme in the book, you'll enjoy the series. Haven't heard much about the movie, but I can't wait to see it.
   
   
4. Juno. Who saw Thank You for Smoking? Director Jason Reitman returns to direct this story of a pregnant teenager who decides to give her baby up for adoption to a couple played by Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) and Jennifer Garner (ALIAS). Critics have been writing glowing reviews about this film. It's supposed to be a feel-good comedy.
   
   
5. Eastern Promises. I've only seen one David Cronenberg film that I'm aware of (The History of Violence - not recommended for general moviegoers) and it also stared Viggo Mortensen. They team up for another violent film surrounding the mysterious death of a women connected to the Russian mafia. Naomi Watts also stars.
   
   
6. Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton directs Johnny Depp in this musical about a murderous barber. Perfect for a Christmas release. :-) I have no idea if this will be good or not, but I want to find out.
   
   
7. The Kite Runner. If you haven't read this book, it needs to be the next book you read. You won't be disappointed. Hopefully that is what people will be saying about this movie. The posters look a bit cheesy, so I'm almost concerned.
   

Those are the movies I'm most looking forward to, in no particular order. I'm sure at least one of them will disappoint me, but such is the nature of the beast. Has anyone heard of any of these movies, at at least the books most of them are based on? What movies are you looking forward to the most?

Procrastination

I'm procrastinating. I need to make five development calls for the United Way, but I don't want to do it. So instead, I'm blogging.

We had a staff conference in May where we played get-to-know-you games. I have a stack of questions from one of those games, so I pulled five of them out to answer on this blog. Once you read them, you are tagged to answer the same questions. Don't worry; they aren't complicated.

1. What does your favorite t-shirt say? "The People's Republic of Cork" - Cork, Ireland, is where I lived for four months. I love this shirt because you can only buy it in one city, in one country, in all the world. I get a lot of strange looks when I wear it. However, when I wore it to an Irish bar on St. Patrick's Day, I got a lot of compliments.
   
   
2. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football, specifically the DALLAS COWBOYS! I went to my second Big 12 football game last weekend, which was a blast, especially because I didn't have to pay for the ticket.
   
   
3. What is your favorite season of the year? The Fall! I love the weather - cool, but not cold. Perfect for sleeping with the windows open and driving with the windows down. It's also football season and State Fair time. I could go on and on.
   
   
4. What was your favorite event as a child? I'm going to be vague here and say camping with my family. Growing up we only visited places we could drive to, including Calif. and Fla., and camped once we got there. Beaver's Bend is probably the campground I have the most memories from, but I enjoyed all of it. We started out in a tent, upgraded to a pop-up trailer and finally graduated to a RV. I wish I went camping more now.
   
   
5. Name three things you would like to accomplish in your lifetime. 1 - Run a marathon. If my tendinitis is going to flare up every time I hit a certain training level, that might be difficult. 2 - Visit six continents. I don't really care if I make it to Antarctica. I've been to North American and Europe, so I have South American, Asia, Africa and Australia to go. 3- Learn a second language. Spanish would make the most sense, but I would love to learn French.
   

Your turn!

Shoes and Tennis

I had a new experience today. I spent $85 on a pair of black dress shoes. I don't think I've ever spent more than $30. The tendinitis in my foot bothered me all week, even though I didn't exercise. I would switch to flip-flops about an hour into the work day because my shoes were hurting my foot. So I decided to buy comfortable, supportive shoes and accept the cost shock. I love the pair I bought - Nurture from Dillards - but the heel is designed for support and comfort, not style, so I might splurge and buy another pair of $80 shoes from the Naturalizer with a more traditional heel, to wear when I want to look a little more professional. And the shoes I bought have a lower heel, so all my dress pants would have to be hemmed to wear with my new shoes. I did buy a pair of brown shoes for $30, so I didn't go crazy. But I had a hard time telling the sales lady at Dillards I would take the $85 shoes. I can talk myself OUT of buying anything, but I didn't give myself time to do that. All I have to say is that these shoes better last me a long time (and not hurt my feet.)

Does anyone else have a problem buying expensive shoes? Has anyone found a better priced comfy shoe they want to tell me about? It's never too late to return my expensive purchase.

Be sure and catch some US Open tennis on CBS and USA this weekend. Sharapova has already lost (she was the defending Champion) and things are about to get very interesting on the women's side. What most would consider championship match-ups start happening in the fourth round. OH MY. Federer just lost the first set against John Isner, the tall, hard-serving 22 year-old American.

Friday Night Lights

It's plug time. Season 1 of Friday Night Lights comes out on DVD Tuesday and I encourage you all to buy it. Why not rent it? Well, it's five discs, so at $4 a disc, it's $20 to rent the season. You can buy it at Best Buy, Target and Circuit City for $19.99. NBC is so sure you'll love it, they are offering a money-back guarantee. So if you buy it, and don't like it, take it back and get your $20 back. And the camera work is less shaky and chaotic after the pilot, so don't let that discourage you.

Friday Night Lights is one of the most realistic shows on television and the acting is incredible. Any time Connie Britton is on screen, I'm blown away. It's ridiculous that she wasn't nominated for an Emmy. NBC made the decision to bring this quality show back for a second season even though the ratings argued against that decision. So support NBC's decision to support quality TV programming by supporting Friday Night Lights. :-) I watched the entire first season online on my laptop in one weekend, that's how good it was. Once I started watching it, I couldn't stop. And the show is about the people that play football and their community, not about football. It's relationship drama and probably the best depiction on television right now.

So go out and buy Friday Night Lights on Tuesday!

In case you aren't aware, the US Open tennis tournament started today on USA. Both Williams sisters play this evening after a tribute to Althea Gibson, the first African American to win a Gland Slam title. Both Serena and Venus were the first African American women to win the US Open and Wimbledon since Althea, respectively. Go Williams sisters! I'm hoping Venus wins it all. If that happened, it would be the third time she won Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year. The draw is stacked against her though. I know most of you don't care about tennis, but I'm excited. My TiVo will be working overtime the next two weeks.

Random Thoughts

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Even my Friday Five recurring post has ceased to exist. It's not like I haven't tried to write a blog entry, I just haven't had anything interesting to say. I'm forcing myself to blog now, mainly because I'm bored at work. Also to give the few of you that still check my blog something to read.

I found out by reading the Sunday paper my age group (25-34) is the largest age group in the city. We make up 30 percent of the population. Where are all these people? I've decided they all work in banks. We have 22 or 23 different banks in town. It's insane. Other than that, I don't run into people my age very often. Why isn't the college population the largest percentage? The age brackets split freshmen and sophomores from juniors and seniors.

School starts Monday. The freshmen from half the colleges in town moved into the dorm over the weekend and there was a noticeable rise in traffic.

I'm growing jalapenos and green bell peppers and they have suddenly started sprouting. Unfortunately, the peppers are rotting before they are fully grown. I'm trying to feed them more water. This is my first time to grow produce and I don't know how big or small to expect the veggies, so I am probably letting them grow too long, thus rotting. I made jalapeno soup with my last batch of jalapenos, but I don't know what I'll make this time.

54,000 adults in my community of 200,000 people are illiterate.

Has anyone read the His Dark Materials trilogy. The first book, The Golden Compass is a movie staring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig (aka James Bond.) The book is anti-religion, but I read an interview with Nicole saying that aspect has been played down in the movie. II actually wondered how they would handle that aspect in the movie because the religious right is so vocal about representation like that. I'm reading the second book right now. It's a enjoyable read. I bought the second book by the author of the Kite Runner. That book is also being made into a movie. If you haven't read it, I recommend you do so. It was one of the best books I read a few years ago. Can't wait to start A Thousand Splendid Suns. Not a fan of the title. Can't ever remember it. (I just had to look it up on amazon.com to include it here.)

That's all I got folks. Not much going on.

100 Things

I am going to do this 100 Things tag that is going around. If you read it, I hope it's interesting.

1. I was born and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas.
   
   
2. I've lived in L for almost five years now. (I'm stuck here.)
   
   
3. I lived and worked in London for six months.
   
   
4. I lived and worked in Cork, Ireland, for four months.
   
   
5. I spent five weeks backpacking in Europe alone.
   
   
6. I've been to 14 countries in Europe, most during those five weeks.
   
   
7. I love going to the movies.
   
   
8. I love reading books.
   
   
9. I love theatre.
   
   
10. I love watching TV.
    
    
11. Thursday night is my favorite night of TV. I watch My Name is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock on NBC and Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy on ABC.
    
    
12. I couldn't live without TiVo.
    
    
13. Or my iPod.
    
    
14. I mow my own yard.
    
    
15. I have a younger sister.
    
    
16. I do not have any living grandparents.
    
    
17. I've watched 38 movies and one TV series season on Netflix so far this year.
    
    
18. I love the Dallas Cowboys.
    
    
19. Emmitt Smith is my favorite Dallas Cowboy ever.
    
    
20. I like Tony Romo right now.
    
    
21. I played tennis in high school.
    
    
22. I've been to Wimbledon.
    
    
23. I saw the Williams sisters play doubles at Wimbledon.
    
    
24. Pete Sampras is my all-time favorite tennis player.
    
    
25. Rafael Nadal is my favorite male tennis player right now and Venus Williams is my favorite female player.
    
    
26. My tennis injuries include a bloody nose and black eye.
    
    
27. I was in drama in high school.
    
    
28. I competed in two One Act plays.
    
    
29. I took advanced art in middle school.
    
    
30. I took roller skating lessons in elementary school.
    
    
31. I sprained my left arm skating.
    
    
32. I broke my right arm in second grade.
    
    
33. I went to a private elementary school.
    
    
34. I've never had surgery.
    
    
35. I collect key chains.
    
    
36. I've kept a happy list instead of a journal since my junior year in high school.
    
    
37. I'm growing jalapenos and green bell peppers, the first things I've ever grown.
    
    
38. I love the Dixie Chicks.
    
    
39. I have no idea what I want to do with my life.
    
    
40. I don't watch reality TV.
    
    
41. I love to go camping.
    
    
42. Beaver's Bend State Park is where my family always went camping.
    
    
43. I remember very little from my childhood.
    
    
44. I am an incredible Taboo player.
    
    
45. I saw my first opera in Verona, Italy.
    
    
46. The last book I read that I couldn't put down was No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.
    
    
47. I voted Democrat in the last presidential election.
    
    
48. I've never had a traffic ticket.
    
    
49. My favorite color is green.
    
    
50. Then red.
    
    
51. I hate to dust.
    
    
52. Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite flavor of ice cream.
    
    
53. I can't eat hamburgers at Wendy's because the patties are square.
    
    
54. As a volunteer I raise money for the United Way and the Children's Miracle Network.
    
    
55. I lived with a boy for two years (we were not dating.)
    
    
56. I will look at a billboard and count the colors or say every color represented in my head.
    
    
57. I will count the "sections" of things like entertainment centers in my head.
    
    
58. I used to count steps.
    
    
59. I must be getting less crazy because I do those things less often now.
    
    
60. I dye my hair to cover up the gray, which there is a lot of.
    
    
61. FRIENDS is one of my all-time favorite TV shows.
    
    
62. I threw a book away in Italy because I couldn't stand the thought of leaving it around for someone else to read, I thought it was so bad.
    
    
63. If I think about it too long, I still feel bad about throwing away that book.
    
    
64. I love cookie cake!
    
    
65. I have one every year on my birthday.
    
    
66. I refuse to wear clothes with the brand name or logo on them.
    
    
67. I can't whistle.
    
    
68. A co-worker made my cry.
    
    
69. I love taking exercise classes at the gym.
    
    
70. I don't like to talk on the phone.
    
    
71. In high school, I had long hair that went down to my elbows.
    
    
72. The first car I drove was a baby blue VW Beetle.
    
    
73. I believe everyone should know how to drive a standard.
    
    
74. I think President Bush is an idiot.
    
    
75. I love cheesecake.
    
    
76. I stopped wearing makeup in middle school and just wore it for special occasions until last Saturday when I became a full-time makeup wearer.
    
    
77. Almost nobody noticed, which I take as a compliment.
    
    
78. I haven't run since Thanksgiving 2006 due to a foot problem.
    
    
79. My knees pop every time I bend them.
    
    
80. I was a counselor for ACU Leadership Camps.
    
    
81. My favorite season is Fall.
    
    
82. I love the snow!
    
    
83. I walk to work, or at least try to. I've had so many off-campus meetings lately I haven't been able to.
    
    
84. If I had an opportunity to move back to Europe and work, I would do it in a heartbeat.
    
    
85. I don't have a land line, just a cell phone.
    
    
86. My birthday is during spring break, so I only remember going to school or working on my birthday once.
    
    
87. I had a solo in a musical in elementary school.
    
    
88. I'm addicted to Chapstick. I always buy Chapstick Medicated and take the wrapper off so it's a brand-less white tube. If the clothes I'm wearing have pockets, I keep my Chapstick there, otherwise I keep it in my purse. I have a to-go Chapstick attached to the outside of my purse. When I travel, I have those two Chapsticks, plus at least two backups. I also keep a Chapstick in a drawer at work.
    
    
89. I love to sing along to music when I'm in the car or washing dishes.
    
    
90. Diet Dr. Pepper is my soda of choice.
    
    
91. I wish I could dance.
    
    
92. A 31-year-old divorced bus driver asked me out. I said yes before I said no. I'm cruel, but not intentionally.
    
    
93. I love scary movies, but rarely watch them.
    
    
94. My bedroom is red, white and black with the walls painted red.
    
    
95. I like High School Musical.
    
    
96. The last movie I saw in theaters was Hairspray.
    
    
97. The next movie I plan on seeing is Bourne Ultimatum.
    
    
98. My dad always gives me candy for Valentine's Day, even if he has to mail it.
    
    
99. I wish my drive to work was longer than one minute so I could list to Kidd Kraddick more.
    
    
100. This was fun, but harder than I thought.

If you read this, I tag you to do it.