Pink is my favorite color, so I'm sharing some lovely pink images for you to enjoy on this summer day!
I'm linking up today to Company Girl Coffee, hosted by Home Sanctuary. Click on the icon for more info!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: An 11-second video of my grandson
I don't know if Payton is quoting from something here, but I think it's pretty adorable.
I'm connecting today with (Semi) Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Flip Flops and Pearls!
Click on the icon for more info...
I'm connecting today with (Semi) Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Flip Flops and Pearls!
Click on the icon for more info...
Monday, June 20, 2011
From the Archives: My Interview with Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott
Brooke Elliott dishes about body image, working with icons, and NOT being pressured to lose weight
Note: This post was originally published in August 2010, but since "Drop Dead Diva" is back for another season, I thought I'd reprise it!--Cindy
Television being what it is, I never give a blanket endorsement to a TV show. However, I've seen "Drop Dead Diva" several times now, and I've really enjoyed it so far.
OK, it's one of those someone-comes-back-to-life-after-dying premises. We all know you have to suspend disbelief there, so just enjoy the show for what it is: light-hearted fun with some occasionally serious things to say about the weight issues that most women live with.
The best thing about the show? Its star, the delightful Brooke Elliott.
Deb is a slim, air-headed woman brought back in the body of a brilliant but dumpy and overweight lawyer, Jane. Somehow they merge--with Deb getting Jane's overweight exterior and brilliant mind, but keeping her own ditzy personality. Plus, Deb can't seem to remember that she doesn't look like a babe anymore, so she still acts like one.
The lovely Brooke Elliott is absolutely convincing portraying this paradox, and as I told her, it makes me believe that all overweight women should just act beautiful...then maybe it would become a self-fulfilling reality!
I asked Brooke about having a job in which she feels NO pressure to lose weight...what it's like working with famous guest stars like Delta Burke, Paula Abdul and Liza Minelli..and what about the guardian angel, Fred--will we ever see him again?
You can listen to my 8-minute interview with Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott here.
Check out my book blog today, where the question is: Do you like movies made from books?
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Friday Fabulousness & Fashion Friday: Time for a Kate Update
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) seems to be adjusting to married life very well--she's glowing. There haven't been very many public occasions since she and the Duke tied the knot, but here are some recent photos.
Click on the icon to participate in Fashion Friday!
Thursday 13: Thirteen Things I Miss About My Dad
My dad passed away in July 2004(I blogged about his passing here.) I seem to miss him more instead of less as time goes by. This is a repeat of a Thursday Thirteen I did earlier, but I wanted to re-run it in honor of Father's Day.
Here are 13 of the many things I miss about my dad:
1) His dedicated and passionate love for the Lord
2) His sense of humor--including his corny-but-funny jokes
3) His love of music--something he passed down to all of his children
4) His beautiful singing voice. I can still hearing him sing his signature song, Submission:
Not what I wish to do
Nor where I wish to go
For who am I, that I should choose my way?
The Lord shall choose for me
Tis better far, I know,
So let him bid me go, or stay.
5) Hearing him play the trombone--something he continued to do until he got really sick
6) Talking with him. Long, meaty conversations, about everything from politics and current events to theology and everything in between. I miss that so much.
7) Going on walks with him. Every time I visited my folks in Texas or they came up to visit me, my dad and I would go walking together.
8) Hearing him pray. Many's the night I would hear him praying in another room as I fell asleep.
9) The way he would literally be on the edge of his seat when there was a fight scene in a movie or TV show
10) The way he would play with his grandchildren--horsing around with them when they were younger, playing Dominoes or other board games with them as they grew older
11) The funny songs he would make up on the fly--and often inserting our names into
existing songs
12) The way he would greet me when he phoned me: "Cindy? This is your daddy..."
13) The many ways he showed his love for his family
I miss you, Daddy.
Go here to participate in Thursday Thirteen
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wednesday Hodge-Podge!
Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland
1. What is one thing on your bucket list? If you don't have one let's pretend you do.
Go to Ireland.
2. What makes a good dad?
A man of character who loves his children unconditionally, encourages and supports them wholeheartedly, but has the wisdom to set boundaries and enforce them firmly but lovingly.
A man who follows Christ and strives to be like him.
A man who loves and respects his wife, and models that to his children.
A man who helps equip his children to someday be independent and stand on their own two feet.
A man who laughs and enjoys his children and his life.
3. Are you afraid of insects? Which ones?
It's not that I'm afraid of them per se. They just give me the creeps! Pretty much all of them. Except the ones that just annoy me, like flies and mosquitoes.
4. We're barbecuing...what's on the grill at your house?
We like it all--burgers, brats, pork chops, chicken breasts, veggie-burgers. I love to slice yellow squash and zucchini, add some onion slices, season it and drizzle olive oil on it, wrap it in aluminum foil and grill it. Yum!
5. Do you believe playing is more important than winning?
I do. But I'm not as competitive as other members of my family! :)
6. Do you tan? Use self tanners? Visit tanning salons? See your dermatologist at least once a year?
I've never been much of a sun worshipper...I've even been poked fun at sometimes for my whiteness. Now, at my age, I'm glad I didn't do it a lot. I will sometimes use a self-tanner on my legs and arms. I've never EVER been to a tanning salon. And no, I haven't been to my dermatologist in a while...thanks for the reminder!
7. Five years ago I would never imagine that today I would...
...be working at News/Talk 1440 WROK. It has always been the radio station I looked up to and admired in my city, and now I work there! Still hard to believe.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I think God gave us the most incredible, amazing gift when he gave us music! I love music so much, and it enhances and enriches my life in so many ways. I'm so glad there's such a thing!
Click on the icon to participate in Wednesday HodgePodge!
3. Are you afraid of insects? Which ones?
It's not that I'm afraid of them per se. They just give me the creeps! Pretty much all of them. Except the ones that just annoy me, like flies and mosquitoes.
4. We're barbecuing...what's on the grill at your house?
We like it all--burgers, brats, pork chops, chicken breasts, veggie-burgers. I love to slice yellow squash and zucchini, add some onion slices, season it and drizzle olive oil on it, wrap it in aluminum foil and grill it. Yum!
5. Do you believe playing is more important than winning?
I do. But I'm not as competitive as other members of my family! :)
6. Do you tan? Use self tanners? Visit tanning salons? See your dermatologist at least once a year?
I've never been much of a sun worshipper...I've even been poked fun at sometimes for my whiteness. Now, at my age, I'm glad I didn't do it a lot. I will sometimes use a self-tanner on my legs and arms. I've never EVER been to a tanning salon. And no, I haven't been to my dermatologist in a while...thanks for the reminder!
7. Five years ago I would never imagine that today I would...
...be working at News/Talk 1440 WROK. It has always been the radio station I looked up to and admired in my city, and now I work there! Still hard to believe.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I think God gave us the most incredible, amazing gift when he gave us music! I love music so much, and it enhances and enriches my life in so many ways. I'm so glad there's such a thing!
Click on the icon to participate in Wednesday HodgePodge!
Monday, June 13, 2011
True Grit (2010): A movie worth watching
"You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God."
Every once in a while, a movie comes along that doesn't make me regret I spent a couple of hours of my time watching it...in fact, I regard it as an uplifting experience.
Such was the case with True Grit.
From the moment I saw a verse from Proverbs on the screen, listened to the soft piano notes playing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,' and heard the female narrator utter the quote above, I knew this was going to be a special movie.
I had never seen the 1969 version of the movie, starring John Wayne, Glenn Campbell and Kim Darby. And I'm actually glad I hadn't. I had nothing with which to compare this movie, and I have a feeling I might find the original movie lacking. One reviewer called the new version "not so much a remake as a masterly re-creation."
Hailee Steinfeld as 14-year-old Mattie, who is determined to capture her father's killer and avenge his death, is a marvel. From the moment she appears on the screen, we're charmed.
Mattie's young face is a canvas for emotions ranging from stubbornness and coolness to fear and excitement. Her articulate intelligence and naive but confident courage are wonderful to see.
Apparently, Joel and Ethan Coen (the producers) wanted to be faithful to Mattie's characterization in the Charles Portis book on which both movies were based.
According to Wikipedia:
Jeff Bridges is wonderful as the gruff, eye-patched Marshall Rooster Cogburn who initially doesn't want anything to do with Mattie's quest. In a very moving climactic scene, though, Cogburn becomes the father Mattie needs when she needs him most.
Ultimately we realize that although Mattie wanted Cogburn's help because she heard he has "true grit," it's Mattie that has that quality, in spades.
The ending was a bit anticlimactic (not sure, but I think I might have preferred the way the original movie ended it). And I wouldn't watch this with younger children; there are a few violent scenes, one in particular that's fairly grisly.
True Grit received 10 Academy Award nominations, but didn't win a single one. It also was snubbed by the Golden Globes. World Net Daily's Jack Cashill speculated that the Golden Globes, run by the European press, "likely slighted 'True Grit' for its unapologetic celebration of republican virtue. I refer here to those virtues necessary to build a successful republic: self-reliance, resourcefulness, strength, competence, charity, piety."
For me, these virtues were what made the movie worthwhile. Along with terrific acting, a compelling story, and the welcome realization that the great Western isn't dead yet--and that good movies can still be made.
Apparently, Joel and Ethan Coen (the producers) wanted to be faithful to Mattie's characterization in the Charles Portis book on which both movies were based.
According to Wikipedia:
Mattie Ross "is a pill," said Ethan Coen in a December 2010 interview, "but there is something deeply admirable about her in the book that we were drawn to," including the Presbyterian-Protestant ethic so strongly imbued in a 14-year-old girl. Joel Coen said that the brothers did not want to "mess around with what we thought was a very compelling story and character". The film's producer, Scott Rudin said that the Coens had taken a "formal, reverent approach" to the Western genre, with its emphasis on adventure and quest. "The patois of the characters, the love of language that permeates the whole film, makes it very much of a piece with their other films, but it is the least ironic in many regards."
Jeff Bridges is wonderful as the gruff, eye-patched Marshall Rooster Cogburn who initially doesn't want anything to do with Mattie's quest. In a very moving climactic scene, though, Cogburn becomes the father Mattie needs when she needs him most.
Ultimately we realize that although Mattie wanted Cogburn's help because she heard he has "true grit," it's Mattie that has that quality, in spades.
The ending was a bit anticlimactic (not sure, but I think I might have preferred the way the original movie ended it). And I wouldn't watch this with younger children; there are a few violent scenes, one in particular that's fairly grisly.
True Grit received 10 Academy Award nominations, but didn't win a single one. It also was snubbed by the Golden Globes. World Net Daily's Jack Cashill speculated that the Golden Globes, run by the European press, "likely slighted 'True Grit' for its unapologetic celebration of republican virtue. I refer here to those virtues necessary to build a successful republic: self-reliance, resourcefulness, strength, competence, charity, piety."
For me, these virtues were what made the movie worthwhile. Along with terrific acting, a compelling story, and the welcome realization that the great Western isn't dead yet--and that good movies can still be made.
Friday, June 10, 2011
You know you grew up in the 80's when....
(originally posted June 7, 2008)
o You've ever ended a sentence with the word "psyche."
o You watched the Pound Puppies.
o You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair " ...and can do the "Carlton" dance.
o If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock."
o You had plastic streamers on your bicycle's handle bars
o You think that was when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
o You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on the big screen... and still know the turtles names.
o You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
o You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off."
o You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us... head-to-toe)
o You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
o You still get the urge to say "not" after every sentence.
o After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
o You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up" and "Where's the beef?"
o You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
o You've gone through reading all of this while nodding your head in agreement.
o "Don't worry, be happy."
o You remember boom boxes. and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
o You remember watching both "Gremlins" movies.
o You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
o You used the term "Way" and "No Way" on a regular basis.
o You still sing "We are the World"
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Monday, June 06, 2011
The Least Popular Baby Names...and Why
The most popular baby names in 2010 were Aiden for a boy and Sophia for a girl (those names knocked Jacob and Isabella off their thrones.)
But what were the least popular names? Well, scanning the list at the Circle of Moms website, I was really surprised not to find my own name on there, simply because of when I was born.
As it is, the list is a roll call of many of my contemporaries...friends, relatives and acquaintances that were born in the mid to late 50's and early 60s.
According to Circle of Moms:
"...the least favorite girls names are largely names that were once incredibly popular—in the late 1930s-1960s, but which have now fallen drastically out of favor. According to the Social Security Administration's name data:On the boys' side, a similar trend holds: Again according to Social Security Administration's name data, Larry was a top 10 name from 1937-55, and Roger hovered around #25 for the entire duration of the 40s. Names ending with “-arry” (as in Larry, Jerry, and Harry) were also especially popular in the 1950s but are no longer trendy. In 2010, not a single “-erry” ending name made the boys' top 50 names list.
- Patricia was in the top 5 girls names from the late 1930s through early 1950s,
- Susan was a top 5 name from the late 1940s through the early 1960s
- Nancy and Sandra were both top 10 names throughout the 1940s, andPamela and Brenda ranked among the top 20 most popular girls names during the 1950s and early 60s
...Apparently many modern moms have an antipathy for names strongly associated with much older generations."
Go here to read the complete list of least popular baby names.
Don't forget, though--baby naming trends come and go. I remember my Grandma Garrett once told me that she was terribly embarrassed that her father's name was Joshua--she thought it was such an old-fashioned name!
And then there are those names that never seem to go out of style. I noticed that "Katherine" and "David" are still on the top 100 favorites...as are the names of my grown-up sons, Jonathan and Justin.
If you're expecting a baby, what names are you considering?
Photo via
Friday, June 03, 2011
One of the cutest phone "conversations" ever
Granted, this is my little grandson Josiah, so I'm biased...but I think this is totally adorable.
What's really cute is that he obviously really thinks he's talking on the phone. Toward the end, he has such a mixture of concern and annoyance on his face, it actually looks like he's dealing with a problem!
Enjoy.
Friday Fabulousness: The Joy of Primping
Elizabeth Taylor
Friday Fabulousness! From the "I enjoy being a girl" file...The Joy of Primping (and yes, that's primping, with an r. )
Definition from MerriamWebster.com: "to dress or groom oneself carefully"
Definition from MerriamWebster.com: "to dress or groom oneself carefully
Kim Kardashian
via
Grace Kelly
Deborah Kerr
YouTube make-up guru Emily Eddington
Elizabeth Taylor
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