Feeling a little Southern

Have any of you seen this new, up and coming, somewhat "hidden" show on the CW entitled 'Hart of Dixie'?

I have to admit, I didn't watch it from it's inception, but I catch it, usually by accident, every week. With our schedule, I just can't remember, and I usually see only it when I'm flipping channels.

Well, flipping through our 13 channels.  Our 13 non-cable channels.  Our amish cable as you will.

It stars the hunky from my old favorite, Friday Night Lights.
Jason Street. (That was his TV name on FNL.  I don't know his real name...)

 The show is a  little edgy, a lot Southern, and I guess you could say it satisfies all my tendencies toward the Southern half of the country.  (Except for the heat and humidity that is!)

It's a little Margaret Mitchell, a little Sweet Home Alabama (one of my favorite movies.)

I'm a little hooked.  Course, I really don't have time to watch TV, but how else am I gonna unwind at the end of the day?

Then again, maybe I shouldn't get hooked.  It seems all my favorite shows experience a very early death after just a couple seasons.  Why TV executives does this have to be so?

I'm a lover

I'm a big lover of books.

I'm also a big lover of movies.

I'm a big lover of books that are turned into movies...some of the time.

I'm always curious to see if the movie either follows the book, or goes way off track.

So, for Truth Thursday, which I'm bringing back today, on Thursday, after many, many months, I'll give you my run-down on some of my favorite books that were turned into movies.

You know I love my lists.

1.  Possession by A.S. Byatt.

I actually watched the movie first.  It was a good movie. 

I loved it from the start.  A little bit of mystery, a little scandal, sucked me right in.  I'm reading the book now because I haven't been to the library for a week and my current stash of books from my own "library" have been read so many times, they are old to me right now...so I'm reading this.  It's ok.  A lot of things in the book as far as poetry, etc. were left out of the movie, and that's a good thing.  I'm skipping over lots of that in the book.  The storyline in the movie does follow the book pretty well, so I'd recommend this. 

2.  I'm embarrassed by my number 2 choice.  I am only sharing it, because the books were so much better than the movies, and because my book club read every one of the series, and we've went together to see every movie.

Please don't judge me.  The books were easy to read, and I liked how the author, a Mormon, advocated no premarital sex.  That was good.  Then we went to see the movies.

What a bad idea.  What terrible acting!  Now, the group of us just goes to get a good laugh at the "constipated" expressions on some of the actors who are trying to look so serious!  I would stick with just the books.

3.  The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

Great book.  One of the first of his I ever read.  Great story.  Sad, romantic.  All around good. 

Then there was the movie.

It was a GREAT movie.  Great actors.  Great following the storyline of the book.  I would totally recommend both.

4.  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

I read the book first, and I liked it, but it was so hard to follow with all the jumping around/time traveling.  It made it a little hard to read, not because of the length, but because of the having to concentrate so hard to stay on track.  I did like it, though, but I was glad when the movie came out.

It was another Rachel McAdams movie.  I like her.  The movie was a little easier to understand than the book, which I liked.  It made it more real.  It was sad, and romantic, and perplexing.  I would probably watch it again.  I would recommend the movie over the book.

5.  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

This is a THICK book.  No joke, you won't be able to hold it with one hand while you drink your coffee and eat your breakfast.  (not that I've tried that or anything....)  It, however, was a wonderful book.  I really liked it.  There are parts to pass over a little, but overall, it's a great story.

Then, I saw that Netflix had the series, and I decided to watch it.

Wow.  It was GREAT too.  Good storyline, good actors, great drama.  I would recommend both.

Last on my list.  (I promise...I mean, are you really taking my opinions to heart?)

6.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

I read this series in 4th grade people.  That's 28 years ago.  And they have stuck with me since then.  I remember reading them.  I even remember where the librarian had them placed in the library.  I gravitated towards them.  At the time, they were a little "scandalous."  (Maybe that was just my 4th grade imagination.)  They were a little science-fictiony, and a little fantastic.  I LOVED reading them. 

When my kids came of age, I tried to get them to read them.  They didn't feel quite so strongly as I did about them.  Evan is starting to read them now.  He got interested because we started watching the movies as a family.

They are all (all 4 of them) excellent movies.  With a great moral to them.  The lion represents God/Jesus.  Our kids have asked so many questions after we've watched these together.  I think Disney did a great job with them all.  I would recommend both the books and the movie.

Well, now that I'm done with my little list...I hope you've found something to take away from it.  Maybe you can get one at the library this weekend and enjoy some time with it.

Have a relaxing weekend!

Totally Awesome!

Ok, so I'm gonna date myself when I tell you this...

I'm a product of the seventies, which means I went through school in the eighties and early ninties.

I'm ok with that.  In fact, it catches up with me quite often.

One of Brent's and my favorite movies is The Wedding Singer.

Adam Sandler and his cast of characters totally ROCK all the 80's glam, and songs.  It literally CRACKS US UP through the whole movie.  Our kids DO NOT get it.

So, that being said, lately, it seems like 80's references keep creeping up in my life.  Because of that, I thought I'd share some of my favorite memories, and some of my favorite things I possessed back then.

When I recently saw these on Pinterest I couldn't help but crack up.

I had these very dolls.  Played with them in the bathtub for what seemed like HOURS in my childhood.
Their hair flowed like the breeze through the water.  Absolutely FANTASTIC for a little girl.

I also had these as a fashion statement.  The person on Pinterest who pinned these made the comment that they were the CROCS of the 80's.  Oh yeah, baby.  They were.
Jellies.  You could go in the sand or water, and it just spilled out the holes in the sides.  Wonderful!

When I got older, I specifically remember going with my parents to the store and buying this very game.

The store was called Farm and Fleet.  Whoever would've thought they would have something this cool?  My sister and I played this all the time.  My parents still have it!

Since I was so into fashion, when I got this I rearranged Barbie's outfits so many times, she could've supplied the city of Paris with her wardrobe.

Since Boom boxes are a thing of the VERY DISTANT past, I'll show you the one I had as a teenager.  It corresponded wonderfully with my peach and turquoise bedroom decor.

I spent many hours taping my favorite songs off the radio, and making sure my sister wasn't making too much noise in the background...because then IT WOULD BE ON THE TAPE!


And lastly, high school.  Ah, high school.  I don't know how my friends and I ever heard of this game, but we soiled many a notebook page playing it.

Funny how it ALWAYS landed on my favorite guy, career, city, etc.

Swatch watches were SO important fashion-wise...

and I can't remember if I had an ACTUAL Swatch, but I totally had the jelly protector that went across it.

Boy, do I ever feel OLD right now.  That trip through memory lane tired me out.  Now, if I can just find a Madonna song on the radio on the way home...

What era did you grow up in, and what are your memories?

Life is...

Well, I didn't feel inspired to write today, but when I opened a picture file I had on the computer, I felt compelled to share it with you.

You see, I'm pretty sure I've caught my daughter's cold. I've felt extremely tired lately, and there is not a day in the week when we're not driving someone to something. It's getting old.

I know I've complained about this before. Sorry. It's just, I have to let it out.

When I came across this picture of the kiddos the other day, it made me smile. Today it made me laugh. I'm not sure why, it just did. I mean, the seriousness on his face, when the glasses just look so ridiculous!

This "funky" look started the other day at the library, when Evan picked Spy Kids 3, which is appropriately in 3-D. He was so excited because he had previously seen it at his best friend Mason's house. We hurried home and scrounged around until we found some 3D glasses from a book we had.

Grace even got in on the act.

This movie took, I think, 3 days to watch. You see, with all their activities after school, animal chores, and homework, movies usually only get watched on the weekend, or in the 45 minutes in the morning AFTER they get dressed and BEFORE we leave for school, hence 3 days to finish one movie.

Could he look anymore relaxed?

I think they liked the movie, but it's not going to be a "purchase." You know what I'm talking about. We're not the kind of family who just runs out and buys movies. We're the ones who check it out from the library SO MUCH that we just figure, it's probably something we should just buy because we really like it. This is why our movie collection doesn't rival the library's, or a number of the kids friends'.

So, while today was not the day to end all days, it was another day closer to the weekend, another day closer to not driving my "bus" to all the practices, games, or ceramics classes for 4-H. I'm ready for a break. What's that old line...."Calgon, take me away!" Yo Brent, I need a hot bath - STAT!