Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My lovely friend Julia is writing a book. I'm super proud of her. Most people only talk about wanting to write a book. A lot of those people only think about it. Some of them put pen to paper (so to speak) but only write for a little while before putting the notebook back on the shelf (so to speak). A very few actually finish writing the book, and one of those few is my Julia friend. She's finished it and is in the re-writing, editing, rearranging process right now! Yay for Julia and her awesome progress!

To get the word out to people that she's accomplishing this amazing goal, she started a Writing Blog a little while ago. On this writing blog of hers, Julia is having a bookshelf photo contest. Check out her blog by following this link to the contest. And, if you feel so inclined, participate!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Best Worst Poem

I won a free pizza from the Parlor for this poem (though I think a lot of that had to do with the way John Pugh read it rather than how I wrote it; then again, the poem is pretty awful). It's called...

"You Are"

You are the light.
Our love is brighter than
the sun and the moon and the stars.

You are the music.
Our love is more melodious than
Beethoven and the Beatles and Bono.

You are the water.
Our love is stronger than
rivers and waterfalls and oceans.

You are the fire.
Our love is hotter than
bombs and fireworks and wood-burning stoves.

You are the story.
Our love will last longer than
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and Ron and Hermione, and Anne and Gilbert.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Rescue Me!


You don't know how long I've been
Watching the lantern dim,
Starved of oxygen,
So give me your hand,
And let's jump out the window.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

W.O.W.

The Hurt Locker. Wow.

This movie totally deserved all of the hype it got. It's brilliantly written, beautifully shot (if that's even possible for a movie about war and bombs), and beyond heartfelt. Not usually the kind of praise you give to a story set in dusty, dry Iraq with soldiers sent to detonate or defuse bombs, with explosions and deaths and all that comes with war.

Amazing. See it.

PS Anthony Mackie is hot.

"How much better is thy love than wine!"

My wonderful Heather sister let me borrow (practically forced into my hands) a book she loves and has been telling me to read for about a year now--and of which she got a copy for Christmas--called These Is My Words by Nancy E Turner. It's the fictional diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, her life on the Arizona Territories from 1881-1901.

I love this book for so many different reasons. The style in which it is written is just absolutely perfect for the story it is telling. All of the beautifully crafted metaphors--not really hidden but, rather, well-placed--and the parallels and foreshadowings are woven together in a way that make the story feel more realistic than forced--the mark of a great novel. The language is colorful and it breathes! It's the language of an uneducated young woman as she grows up, learning what she can from books and the people around her; it changes as she does. The characters are so deep and real and full of life. I grew to love them as my own family and I became too attached, as I always do.

Oh, my emotions were jerked all over the place! (Well, it may also have had something to do with the fact that I had PMS.) Anyway, there were many passages that tugged at my heartstrings and I cried in places and laughed in others, felt love and gentleness, and hardness and meanness. One of my favorite passages (probably because I can relate to it all too well) was the following, found on page 152:

"Sometimes I feel like a tree on a hill, at the place where all the wind blows and the hail hits the hardest. All the people I love are down the side aways, sheltered under a great rock, and I am out of the fold, standing alone in the sun and the snow. I feel like I am not part of the rest somehow, although they welcome me and are kind. I see my family as they sit together and it is like they have a certain way between them that is beyond me. I wonder if other folks ever feel included yet alone. Maybe I am getting addled living out here on the ranch."

I think I felt an immediate kinship with Sarah only because of her name (it's even spelled right). But as I read more and more, I know I felt something connecting me to this character, and when I read this passage, it was confirmed. I'm always watching my loved ones, wondering why in the world they keep welcoming me, and feeling like I don't really belong. I go about my business because it needs to be done, and I can't stop comparing myself to "Savannah."

But Sarah is so strong. She lived through some of the meanest, toughest things that could ever happen to a person. She's smart and brave and protects the people she loves. She aches and cries when her heart is broken, and she's muddled and confused about love. She's such a wonderful, complex character. One of my absolute favorites ever written.

Oh, and she writes my new favorite curse: "Low down dirty ornery rotten skunk of a cussed mule-headed soldier!" (106)

Heather, why didn't you tell me to read this sooner? Now I'm going to have to buy a copy for myself. I want to read it again right now!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Finished watching the entire series of Daria again.
"How much money to do you have?"
*silence*
"Trent?"
"I don't have any money, so I said nothing."
Genius.

Also finished watching the first season of Lost again.
This show is crazy.
It's fun to watch again, knowing what's going to happen.
I forgot about the Hurley Bird.
And Sawyer's glasses.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Hanson

(Hanson has Ugly Sweater parties too!)

Just watched this clip and giggled a lot. These guys are funny. I forgot (for a second) how much I loved watching their interviews. They were always so stupid. Except for "the middle one" who always got too serious. (Well, he just didn't talk at all in this particular clip.)

But not this time. This time he was silly along with "the youngest one" (with whom I will always be in love--swoon).

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

"when you crochet i feel mesmerized and proud"

I'm almost done with Aunt Becky's blanket. Finally! It's taken me a lot longer than it should have to get it finished, but I'm almost there and I'm glad to be able to send it her way. I hope she loves it. I think it's turned out very beautiful, but then again, I'm always a little biased about my creations. You tell me: what do you think?


Another creation: bikinis. Yes, crocheted bikinis. Here's one I did for Lindsay. I've done another for Becca, and I have one more on the way for Kelsie. (Better late than never, right?)


I'm pretty pleased with myself, I'm not gonna lie. Both of these projects have turned out better than I'd hoped, so YAY!

A little promo: if you like what you see and you'd like to see something made especially for you, just get a hold of me and order away!


On a different note, I'm getting things going for Tyler and Karina's slideshow for their reception. I can now move on to this project since I finally got Mom and Dad's slideshow done! I'm excited about what I'll be able to create for Ty and Nina. I hope it'll be wonderful.



Lastly, what is it about movies that makes me want to sit in front of my TV or computer for hours at a time? Here I am, blogging as a break from crocheting, but all the while watching The Two Towers as if I haven't seen it enough! I love movies.