change

Over the last year, my life has been mostly characterized by one thing: change. And usually not just one thing changing at a time, but rather several areas of my life shifting beneath my feet like sand. Just when I thought I found an area that was going to remain consistent, it or something related to it would shift. I found myself constantly trying to "create a new normal", to quote my friend, Ann Carolyn. And it was exhausting.

I have finally found myself in a season of relative consistency. I have a wonderful job that I love which is structured and very organized. Check. I have determined new roommates and pretty much know where I'm going to live. Check. At this point, almost all of my close friends are married, so I'm pretty much done with the shifting of amounts of availability for friends. Check...I guess. Basically, things seem rather calm. And while I'm enjoying the calm, I've found myself getting sucked in to missing what was. Missing the old normal. Because while I like the new normal, there are so many things about the old that I liked, that felt safe, and that no one asked me about changing. 

And it is usually at this point that the Lord sweetly reminds me about the seasons of life, that change is necessary, and that He has me. God is so sweet in His grace because I constantly fight against this idea, trying to look back instead of looking forward. I continue to learn the importance of those words Jesus spoke in Matthew, instructing us to build our houses on the Rock and not on the sand. The sand shifts. Anything that is not Christ will shift, change, allow me to fall.

 My favorite author, Shauna Niequist, has a new book coming out in August that is specifically about change and I feel as though she was writing it just for me:

‘When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, and when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.‘ -Shauna Niequist, 'Bittersweet'

So here's to the new normal, accepting it, and beginning to learn to love it. Cheers.

And the picture is a hat-tip to the old that I miss...

Unexpected Seasons

There is something magical about snow, something magical in the unexpected and rare. As I've sat here all afternoon and watched it snow and snow, creating this pure and pristine canvas of glimmers, I just can't get over the calming effect it has. Slowly the snow continually drifts down, softly taking its place on the blanket and adding another sparkle to the beautiful picture forming.

As I looked out over the covered patches of grass, beautiful white perfection shone back at me and all I could do was worship the God whose idea it was, these white flurries from the sky.

He is the great Giver of seasons, both in weather and in life. Just as some are constant and predictable, others surprise you in the best way possible. They are brief but they are sweet. Others are long and extended, but oh so familiar. The short and unexpected may leave before you're ready, but you can trust that the Author of the seasons know their schedule well. It is these short and unexpected seasons, like this snow, that surprise us, stop us, and remind us to in fact worship their Author, our great God and Creator.

We Won't Forget

This is a day we won't forget.

The Favorites: Old School Edition

I want to preface this post by saying that this list is in no way exhaustive. As mentioned in previous posts, our playroom literally overflowed with movies when I was growing up. After a recent scavenger session in that very room and seeing all of the worn cases, I realized how many of those movies I actually watched over and over again. Those mentioned below are some of the standouts.

I would really love to know who else grew up watching this movie. It's a kid-classic as far as I'm concerned. Who can forget crazy mountain man who made Kid Colter drink skunkberry tea because he said it'd put hair on his legs?! Brilliant writing. This is the story of a nerdy boy from Boston who goes to visit his dad in the Pacific Northwest during a Boston teacher's strike. In the process of being there, he ends up being kidnapped and has to survive in the wild. Very gripping, I'm telling you. I would love to extend an invitation to anyone who hasn't seen this excellent example of filmmaking to come over and view it any time. It'll change your life.

I LOVED the Ewok adventures. I thought Wickit was the absolute most adorable thing ever...the stuffed animal every little girl wants. I do think it's kind of strange that I never saw any of the Star Wars movies but I loved the Ewok movies. Go figure. I really loved this one and another one...can't remember it's name...but do remember watching them over and over.

I recently bought the Faerie Tale Theater on DVD. I was absolutely thrilled when it came in the mail. There are 26 hour-long episodes of different fairy tales from childhood. What makes these stand out is that all of them include award-winning actors and actresses and were made for HBO, I believe. Very quality stuff here, people. My favorites were 'Hansel & Gretel,' 'Little Red Riding Hood,' and 'Rapunzel.' H&G had Joan Collins as the evil stepmother and the witch...she was absolutely horrifying. LRRH has Mary Steenburgen as RRH as she is great. Rapunzel has Gena Rowlands as the witch and let me tell you, I STILL have nightmares after I watch that one. Her voice is insanely creepy!!!!

Now, most everyone that is of our generation has seen ET (ET phone home!), but not everyone has witnessed the brilliant product placement alien film of 'Mac & Me.' The choreographed dance in the McDonald's is worth watching the entire film for. I will warn you that if you watch this movie, you will immediately begin craving Coca Cola, Skittles, and McDonald's. I told you...brilliant product placement. Gets me every time...

Oh, this movie. I love this movie. I think alot of that love is directly related to my love of Fred Savage, but regardless, I remember watching this movie over and over as a kid. Centered around playing the original Nintendo, which was all the rage back then, this is a crazy unbelievable story about a mute boy who is a wizard at Nintendo running away from some random social worker of something. Strange. For those of you who have seen this, please tell me you remember the power glove scene! Oh, how dramatic...

No list of mine would be complete without this movie. All of you who know me well are laughing right now because you know my love of this ridiculous film. This is the French cover of a movie called 'Here Comes Santa Claus.' Oh yes. I know that you're probably thinking, "Oh, there must be 2 versions that they made and she had the English one." No. Not really. They just overdubbed the French version with English so the moving mouths don't match the words. :) I love this movie. It is a musical Christmas tale that is completely irrational and 100% cheesy. And I. don't. care. I have watched this movie every single Christmas since I was 4. I promise. We have a home video of me as a 4-year-old sitting on the couch singing along to this movie, heard very prominently in the background. I believe I even took it to school for us to watch in 4th grade. Oh, the shame. But hey, it's just not Christmas without 'Here Comes Santa Claus.'

Were any of these your favorites? What would you have added to the list?

The Favorites

Continuing on with the lists of favorites, this is the list of my all-time favorite movies. Let's just dive in...

I first saw this movie when I was about 12 years old. I was laying in the floor of our living room and I remember absolutely falling in love with it. I loved how they talked, I loved how funny it was, and I loved seeing the relationships built between the women. This movie such an honest portrayal of female relationships, as well as including just about every emotion imaginable. I will tell you that it's not much fun to watch this movie with me, as I quote all the lines along with the characters. Just a fair warning. I also found out in college that my roommate's grandmother was the real life version of one of the characters, as this was written based on a true story. Unreal.

I remember the day we got this movie. My uncle sent it to my mom for her birthday and my love affair with 'The Sound of Music' began. This movie is a classic, recently being named in the top 10 of the American Film Institute's Top 100 movies. There is singing and dancing set to the historical backdrop of WW2. If you know me at all, you know why that is the perfect movie for me.

I saw this movie on a whim with my mom in the theater and proceeded to return two more times following to see it again. It is a magical experience. Baz Luhrmann's direction is impeccable and Nicole Kidman shines in this modern musical. I'm still upset she didn't win the Oscar she was nominated for in this movie. She deserved it. I love the movie's tag line: "The greatest thing is just to love and be loved in return." Beautiful.

Seriously, what twenty-something girl doesn't LOVE 'Anne of Green Gables'? We all love this movie. I think it has alot to do with Gilbert Blythe and the love story between he and Anne. It's a classic one. I just love the wholesome nature of this film, the high value placed on friendship, and the high-spirited personality of Anne. It also helped me on a college English exam since I memorized 'The Lady of Shalot' after watching this movie over and over.

One thing is for certain: Sandra Bullock has the ability to make me laugh at any given moment during any possible mood. She's hilarious and this film is the quintessential example of her hilarity. No female does physical comedy like Sandy. She is fearless in her willingness to make a fool of herself for the sake of a laugh and I love her for that. This movie will forever make me want to start chanting, "You think I'm gorgeous. You want to date me, love me, and marry me..."

I.LOVE.THIS.MOVIE. Simple as that. Meg and Tom are a classic coupling and the real darling of this film is New York City. It is absolutely impossible to not want to visit after you see this visit. Essentially, this movie is a love letter to the city that America is known for. That mixed with the oh-so-delightful chemistry of Tom and Meg makes for one extremely pleasant and warm movie experience.

"You can't handle the TRUTH!!!!!" I mean who doesn't know that line. That's a great line. With a great cast, a great director, and great writing, 'A Few Good Men' is a classic American film. This is easily my favorite film of Tom Cruise's. He take on Daniel Caffey is pitch-perfect and the supporting cast around him of the brilliant Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Keiffer Sutherland creates a cast that is absolutely fantastic. The legal maneuvering exhibited is extremely entertaining to watch as well as the interactions amongst Cruise and Moore.

There you have it. My all-time faves. There are quite a few more that would serve as runner's up, but this is the winning list. What are your favorites?

Addiction

I wanted to share this video with you, the reader, for 2 reasons:

1) This is an incredibly moving performance and a great example of how art serves as a healing tool.
2) To support my statements and promotion regarding the show 'So You Think You Can Dance.'

Dance: Addiction
Dancers: Kayla & Kupono
Choreographer: Mia Michaels

Meaning: Kupono is the addiction and Kayla is the addict. This is a visual representation of the pervasive power of addiction and the hold it places upon those who are stuck in it. Kupono is the utter personification of evil as the addiction with his malevolent grins and piercing eyes. Kayla represents the completely addiction-ravaged girl that is so common in our society, held captive by the claws of her addiction.

Shows of Yester-Year...

This post is dedicated to the shows of my childhood that I loved. As I was beginning to write this, I realized those shows all had something in common: theme songs!! I bet I can still sing the theme songs for each of these. Why don't shows do that anymore?! Ah, the nostalgia of a day gone by...

Okay, here we go!

Ah, The Wonder Years. I LOVED this show. I was in love with Kevin Arnold and wanted my hair to look like Winnie Cooper's. I am very frustrated that you still can't get this show on DVD. It has something to do with all the licensing rights due to the amount of popular music they used within the show. Apparently it's still going to be years before Joe Cocker is crooning "What would you do if I sang out of tune..." from my DVD player. Oh well, I guess there's always TVLand and re-runs...

Isn't this the classic favorite show of our generation? Didn't we all race home after school to see what antics Zack would pull, what outfit Lisa was wearing, and how long Slater's mullet had gotten? I did. I am proud to say I have seen every episode of this show far more than once and can perform Jessie's "I'm SO excited, I'm SO excited, I'm....SO...SCARED" with the best of them. Classic television, ladies and gentlemen. While most have gone on to do other things, I think in our minds they will always be Zack, Kelly, Slater, Jessie, Lisa, and Screech.

This image is representative of the show 'Family Matters' and my favorite character on the show, Steve Urckel. At the age of 10, I would walk around leaning back at the waist, plugging my nose, and asking in my best Urckel voice, "Did I do thaaaaaaaat?" I'm sure I drove my parents crazy. I loved this show. I loved the family dynamics, the drama, the incessant breaking of things that Steve was doing, and the relationship between Steve and Carl Winslow. Again, classic TGYF night at my house.

"Everywhere you look, there's a heart, there's a heart...." I was recently in San Francisco and for sure sang this theme song to myself as I was riding the BART line to the airport. Who doesn't love the show that's known for making the Olsen twins famous, Bob Saget one-liners, and Uncle Jesse proclaiming, "Have mercy!"? I propose that on some level, everyone loves this show. I used to, again, walk around impersonating Stephanie Tanner, saying, "How rude!" all the time. It's amazing that I didn't grow up to be an impersonator, because let me tell you, I did this type of thing all the time with ALL the shows I watched. I know. Bless my mom.

"Camp Onawanna, we hold you in our hearts..." I was a Nickelodeon child growing up, so shows like 'Salute Your Shorts', 'Hey Dude', and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark' were apart of my repetoire as well. There were also those show like 'Legends of the Hidden Temple', 'Guts', 'What Would You Do', and 'All That' that I loved as well. During those long summer days at home from school, Nickelodeon provided quite the respite when it was too hot to be out jumping on the trampoline. Thanks, Nick!!

This final show is actually my favorite show of all time. It wasn't something I started watching until the 8th grade, but it was a show that I watched growing up and is no longer in production, thus the reason for it being on this list. For me, 'Friends' was an escape. During those challenging high school years of peer pressure, feeling awkward, pressure regarding sports I was participating in, and all the other challenges of high school that I wasn't emotionally intelligent enough to handle, 'Friends' was my outlet. It was 30 minutes that I could escape and go to another world of coffee shops and cool apartments in a city far away from my own. Over the years, I really did grow to love these 6 characters. I will always remember where I was when I watched the series finale, crying as I said goodbye to the 6 that had provided laughs on so many hard days.

Disclaimer: You can choose to make fun of me here. I know I'm being a bit sappy. Now I am emotionally intelligent enough to handle tough situations without a cast of characters on a television show, but at the time I wasn't and I needed something to serve as an escape. I would propose that on some level we all do that when things are hard. We go running, some resort to destructive vices such as mass alcohol consumption, etc. I chose a TV show. I was already running up to 60 miles a week for school. Running wasn't going to help me...

There you have it. My favorite shows of childhood. I bet they're pretty similar to many of yours. What are some others you would have added?