Archives for September 2009

Awkward Moment #3

September 9, 2009 by Amy 3 Comments

I’m so good at sticking my foot in my mouth. This one wasn’t so bad but still, it brought heat in my neck.

So I’m in TJ Maxx tonight looking for a purse. There are several really nice ones but they’re $160. I do not spend that much on a purse. I do not even spend 1/4 of that on a purse. While I’m looking for a decent $19.99 purse, a lady comes up beside me. She’s about my height, maybe a little taller and well, bigger. Not grossly overweight but you know, a healthy Southern woman.

We make small talk and complain about the price of the purse. You can tell she’s very down to earth and would probably talk with anyone that stood long enough to listen. As we continue to look through them here is our conversation:

Her: Yeah, sometimes I come in here and catch some clearance ones. I certainly can’t afford these. Maybe if I didn’t eat for a month I could buy it.

We laugh a bit and she starts to walk off. I’m bent down, looking at the last one on the rack and say very slow and sarcastically, trying to be funny: Come on, you don’t need food!

She laughs as she holds her belly and says: You’re right about that!

Me, realizing what I had said, put my hand on her shoulder: Aw, I didn’t mean it like that!

We both kind of laugh it off and she even continues to talk to me on the next aisle but geez, “You don’t need food”?!

Flammage!

September 8, 2009 by Amy 7 Comments

Ok, here’s the deal. Monday at the festival we went to we bought these outdoor candle holders. They are made out of a large glass bottle. They cut the bottom off and then hang a chain through the top, attach a key chain that gets caught in the bottle neck that holds it up and then below that and inside the bottle they hang a clear candle holder. We bought two to hang above our hammock/sitting area outside. It was driving me crazy because they were very easy to make. Figure out how to cut the bottom off the glass and you’re golden.

And in comes YouTube!

So of course Scott being as handy as he is I had to get him to do it. AND me being the blogger I am, I had to get it on film. And whaddyaknow, Scott didn’t mind.

So I recorded twice. Once on the square bottle. The second is a larger round bottle. The first two tries didn’t work. He doused it with acetone again and tried a third time. This is where we see quite a bit of flammage. And warning. Apparently I’ve watched TOO much Friday Night Lights because my Southern accent is LOUD and CLEAR.

Wow! I still freak out a little when I see it! We were NOT prepared for that.

The Shack

September 8, 2009 by Amy 6 Comments

I won The Shack from @scrollmotion on Twitter. It’s a full-form book as an iPhone app. Yep, I read the entire book on my phone.

And at first I didn’t know quite what to think. Honestly, up until this morning I thought the whole thing had really happened. Or at least someone thought it had happened. And I didn’t know how to fit all of that into my theology. Yes, I can be gullible and naive like that. And if you’ve read it, you probably know that the foreword is written as if it’s all real. That Mack exists and his friend Willie wrote the book for him. It’s quite deceiving if you ask me. I had not read one review on the book before, during or after reading the book so I was just sitting with what I had read.

I believe in God. I believe in God in three persons. I believe that he wants a relationship with us through his son Jesus Christ. In fact, I’ve been challenged lately on just how intimately he wants to know us. So much of that part of the book rang true for me. I believe he CAN leave a letter in someone’s mailbox if he wanted. I believe he CAN transform a shack and make someone walk on water. But there were some things that bothered me.

God as a woman? Nope. He is our Father. God is never disappointed in me? Um, no. He flooded the whole earth because he was sick of his creation screwing up. Mack’s father in Heaven? I doubt he had made a conversion in his drunken, poisoned stupor (I know I’m going out on a limb on that one, but it was just something I questioned). God not sending any of us to hell? Definitely not. All of us as a unique light? Possibly. I don’t know what Heaven is like but that sounds a little New Age for me.

So yeah, I was questioning things.

After this morning, I realized that the ideas in the conversations were real but the author used a fictional story to tell his conversations with God. And I can appreciate that. I actually agreed with a lot of what he said. But not all of it.

So do I recommend the book?

I think so. I definitely don’t recommend all of its theology. What I do recommend is if you read it, please, please, please use it as only a springboard to challenge what you believe. Go back to the Bible and find the truth for yourself. For that matter, ask God yourself what He thinks. That nagging feeling I had about it should have been my warning sign. But with many truths present, it’s hard to distinguish. I’m reminded of the Da Vinci Code. That was a fantastic book. I highly recommend that as a read. But I don’t recommend you glean your theology from it. If nothing else, read The Shack so you are an informed reader. I hate when people put down something they know nothing about. It’s just like this Obama speech. People were up in arms about it. Lots of water but no fire. Know what you’re debating. Have an open mind. Be able to actually converse about it.

All in all, I’m glad I read it. I think if nothing else, I’m reminded one more time that God wants an intimate relationship with me. He’s a good God. And He’s especially fond of me.

Friday Night Lights

September 8, 2009 by Amy 4 Comments

This is long. If you don’t want to read it, the whole post can be summarized in one sentence: Watch Friday Night Lights.

It is also not spoilerish so feel free to read it if you haven’t watched the show.

Anyone that has been listening to me at all on Twitter or in real life knows that I have been caught up in a new TV series Friday Night Lights. Like I needed one right? But Kaitlin insisted in my Fall TV post that I should watch it. I had heard before that it was good so I found myself at surfthechannel.com to check it out. Well. I think I can safely say halfway through the first episode I was hooked. By the 3rd episode I was ready to start a fan site. And in my world, that’s the highest compliment I can give.

I spent hours upon hours this weekend during the late evenings and early mornings (thanks 2 two sleepovers for the girls) catching up on Season 1. At episode 8 Friday night, surfthechannel.com failed to deliver an episode. Saturday morning, my first stop was Blockbuster and then Wal-Mart to find it on DVD. At that point I knew I wanted them anyway. Saturday evening, I handed them off to my parents and sister insisting they had to watch it. And they loved it too. At 2:30am on Sunday night/Monday morning I finished Season 1.

It’s so. good.

Like, really, really good.

As in, you should RUN to Wal-Mart and buy it for $14.99.

So what’s to love?

Every. single. character.

I’ll give this from a Season 1 only perspective because I’ve watched some of Season 2 and I realize things start to change…

I always start with Riggins. I love Riggins. I love that he’s the bad boy. Tall, greasy hair and screws up a lot that you want to save. I love that he is vulnerable because his parents flaked out and he has a barely supportive brother. I love that on one hand he’s a womanizer and then the other he says “Lyla…Lyla” in that Texan accent. Yep, he’s the ultimate bad boy in love with the good girl. The couple that should be together but isn’t. Do I love that he does all the bad stuff? No, of course not. But I love watching how he deals with it. I love trying to figure out what drives him. What motivates him. Who he really loves and doesn’t. Ah, I love Riggs.

Next is Matt. Matty. That’s what I call him. Cause yes, I do talk to him through the screen. Matty, that’s so sweet. Poor Matty. I love how he stutters. I love how he’s a gentleman. I love how he has no clue what to do with Julie. I love how he’s fiercely loyal to his team. I love him and Landry. They crack me up. Yep, he’s the boy you want to take home to your Mom. He’s the one you want next to you at your wedding.

And Riggins is the one you want at the honeymoon.

Just sayin’.

Coach Taylor and his wife. Can you really separate them? I love them together. I love how they love each other. I love that they make out in the kitchen. I love that she’s always right and he knows it. I love that they parent Julie together. I love the looks they give each other. I love how they care about the students on the team and at the school. I love how Coach Taylor goes out on a limb for them. I love that he goes against the rules when it makes sense.

Now Jason. I’m not a huge fan of his. I like him, yes, but I’m not as invested in him. I do love that he called out Riggins and Lyla. I love his determination although at times it can be a bit much. I just want to say “calm down” to him sometimes.

Lyla. The good girl. One that made a huge mistake. Of course I love her with Riggins. I love how she tells him how crappy he’s being. I love that she supports Jason. Even though she screwed up, she was at that hospital A LOT. I love that she tries to hold her family together. I’m not her biggest fan but there are definitely things I can relate to in her.

Smash is hilarious. I love that towards the end of the season we got to see the boy behind all the smack-talk. His character has really evolved and I like that.

Tyra. I love that she tells it like it is. She doesn’t take crap from anyone. And yet, under all that she’s as vulnerable as any of them.

Landry. I love him. I love him with Matt. Did I mention they crack me up?

Matt’s Grandma, Smash’s Mom even Buddy Garrity. I can’t help but be glad they’re on the screen too.

It’s amazing that one show could make you care about so many of the characters. Of all the shows I watch, there are NONE that have a cast of characters that I care about and feel invested in like this one.

I love the writing. It’s smart, it’s funny. The timing is impeccable. The storylines are dramatic yet handled a real way. Or maybe the storylines are just realistic and they are able to dramatize them. I don’t know. But there has yet to be a time where I say, you know, I really don’t like this storyline. Because somehow it’s not a storyline. Somehow it’s just their life. And doesn’t life have enough drama? I of course love the Christian undertone of the show. That many of the families are Christians. That they aren’t afraid to have scenes in a church. That they’re not afraid to talk about God.

So yeah, I love this show.

And that was my brain dump after watching 880 minutes of one show in a matter of days.

And I can’t recommend enough that you do the same.

A Blog Bites the Dust

September 3, 2009 by Amy 7 Comments

Beware, I’m on a bit of a soap box in this one.

So I did it. I sold my Melr*se Pl*ce blog (it’s not a bad word, just don’t want search engines picking it up). I sold it to an online friend and I know it will be well taken care of. But yesterday when I took it out of my stat site, it honestly made me choke up a bit. It was like giving a well cared for treasure away. I guess I’ve put more effort and energy into it than I thought.

The thing is once the ads came out recently, they were too racy for me. It’s in very poor taste considering it’s on a network geared toward teenage girls. “Tuesdays are the new Hump Day” or “Menage A TUES” are just examples. Have fun explaining that one to your 13 year old. The main character is “try-sexual” because she’ll try anything with anyone and another character is literally a prostitute on the side. The latest ad says “Lauren’s on call and it’s not at the hospital”. Hopefully the ads are going a bit over the edge and the show will handle the subjects more appropriately. But I doubt it.

I’m no saint when it comes to TV watching but I guess I just didn’t feel comfortable being a part of the promotion of that. I do put a lot of effort into my blogs and since it’s not something I feel 100% about, I just can’t justify the time and effort. The thing is I’m giving up a source of blog income as it was finally making a profit after about 6 months and I expect it only to go up, way up, in fact. I still can’t say it didn’t hurt a bit to give it up. But I know deep down I’m doing the right thing for me.

Sooo…I have some time to blog about something else now…watch out!

Last First Day of Preschool

September 1, 2009 by Amy 4 Comments

Since Emma started 1st Grade Lexi has been counting down to Preschool. Last night we met her teachers and were ecstatic to find that her best friend from her last class was there. This morning Lexi woke ME up at 6:55 holding her clothes. I went to the bathroom and came back in and Lexi says with a bit of embarrassment and regret, “I woke up really early didn’t I?”

So yeah, Lexi is doing A-OK in preschool today.