manifesting musings manipulated in mayhem. (a.k.a. sorting out the crap in my head.)
I loved his roles in 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knights Tale and I am totally bummed – especially since I am finding out a DAY LATER!
I will always picture him like this ^ while hearing him singing “I LOVE YOU BABY! And if it’s quite alright I need you baby, to warm a lonely night, I love you baby, trust in me when I saaaaaay…….”
Here is the article regarding his passing: Newsday.com
Book one for the year:
The Nanny Diaries
Fun book…but like many books I think the end was a bit rushed, certain books are supposed to leave you hanging and I get that but some books should really just tie the pieces together for you. This one should have tied it up. I smell a “sequel” (I could be wrong) but I don’t know that I would read it…
…who am I kidding, if I start a series I feel compelled to read all of it – it is a sickness I know.
Book two for the year:
The Heroin Diaries
Not for the faint of heart. Not a book you should have on your coffee table or bookshelf if you have young children in your home.
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. Though I am not sure that “ENJOYED” is the right word. Reading about someone elses pain and addiction is not something that should be enjoyable. In this book I appreciate the candor, I admired the mind behind the madness. I enjoyed the light that was hiding in the darkness, and there is a God awful lot of darkness in this book but for some reason I ….well, I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. I never knew what went down “back in the day” (the late ’80s) other than that I loved the music of Motley Crue. I have never been a person to attend concerts so I was not witness to their antics…and after reading the book I am glad.
The book dedication reads:
“This book and journey is dedicated to all the alcoholics and drug addicts who have had the courage to face their demons and to pass on the message that there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel.”
An excerpt from the intro:
“These diaries start on Christmas Day 1986, but that day wasn’t even that special. I was an addict well before then, and stayed one for a while afterwards. Perhaps that day just brought my condition home to me. There is something about spending Christmas alone, naked, sitting by the Christmas tree gripping a shotgun, that lets you know your life is spinning dangerously outta control.”
This was a hard book to read at times, but I felt that if he is gonna risk it and put it out there…I can suffer through the words if he suffered through the pain. I am glad I did.
My top three books for the year are:
In the “SERIOUS” category
The Shack by William P. Young.
I read this one with my husband…the fact that he really enjoyed the book should make you run out and find a copy. Heck, the fact that he ACTUALLY read it speaks volumes. This book made me happy by painting a picture that was lurking in the back of my brain about who God is. It made me cry – rivers – when it dug into my heart. It is not your typical “Christian” book. I really can not tell you more without spoiling it.
I give it 5 stars plus a holla and a fist pump!
(hat tip to Dr. Bob Laurent for recommending the book)
In the “FREAKING HILARIOUS” category:
Lamb:The Gospel According to BifF, Christ’s Childhood Pal – by Christopher Moore
A friendship with Jesus like no other. See my previous review of this book HERE
In the “Non-Fiction” category:
Flashbang: How I Got Over Myself by Mark Steele
The humility combined with the great sense of humor of the author is what really kept me engaged. I love laughing while in pain…and this guy seemed to find the laughter within the pain
My biggest reading regret this past year was starting the Left Behind series. I enjoyed the first few books, maybe even the first half or two thirds. I have to admit that I have a sickness…if I start a series I have to finish it. So thirteen books of this was WAY too much and toward the end I really think they were redundant and then just grasping at straws – either that or I was on overload. Maybe if I had read them as they were released it would have been okay. Reading them all in a year…not suggested.
So during Winter Break of 2006 I started keeping track of the books I read. I have been very self indulgent in my reading this year. LOTS of fiction. Very little in the way of books on self improvement or spirituality or biographies – you get it…NON-fiction. So below is my list. The titles in italics are non-fiction. I have linked to my favorites of the year
December 2006
Wicked – Gregory Maguire
Brother Odd – Dean Koontz
Next – Michael Crichton
Ariel – Steven R. Boyett
January and February 2007
Tales From the Crib – Risa Green
You Suck! – Christopher Moore (the book has vampires in it)
I Feel Great (and you will too!) – Pat Croce
Plum Lovin‘ – Janet Evanovich
Left Behind – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Son of a Witch – Gregory Maguire
Tribulation Force – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
March 2007
Girls in Trouble – Caroline Leavitt
Nicolae – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Please, Stop Laughing At Me – Jodee Blanco
April 2007
Notes From the Underbelly – Risa Green
Soul Harvest – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Apollyon– Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Assasains – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
May 2007
Thanksgiving – Janet Ivanovich
The Indwelling – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Mark – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
A Dirty Job – Chris Moore
Grace (Eventually) – Anne Lamott
June 2007
Natural Born Charmer -Susan Elizabeth Phillps
Nineteen Minutes – Jodi Picoult
Anybody Out There? – Marian Keyes
Desecration – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Remnant – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
July 2007
The Stupidest Angel – Christopher Moore
Fluke, or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings – Christopher Moore
Armageddon – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal – Christopher Moore
August / September 2007
Glorious Appearing – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Blue Coyote – Christopher Moore
Love Overboard – Janet Evanovich
Go, Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham
October 2007
Lean Mean Thirteen – Janet Evanovich
The Good Guy – Dean Koontz
Now, Put Your Strengths to Work – Marcus Buckingham
November 2007
Kingdom Come – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Mirror Mirror – Gregory Maguire
The Tenth Circle – Jodi Picoult
Flashbang: How I got over myself – Mark Steele
December 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
The Darkest Evening of the Year – Dean Koontz
The Shack – William P. Young
Books I am looking forward to finally reading in 2008:
Sex God – Rob Bell (own it and have started reading it)
Lost Women of the Bible – Carolyn Custis James (own it)
Cold Tangerines – Shauna Niequist (need to buy or borrow it)
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand (own it)
Fountainhead – Ayn Rand (need to buy or borrow it)
Fearless Fourteen – Janet Evanovich
Plum Lucky – Janet Evanovich
I am certain there will be a new Dean Koontz novel. I always find something I enjoy in every novel even if I do not enjoy the novel in it’s entirety. The man is a writing machine and I wish he would revisit his characters from Fear Nothing and Seize the Night…the first book made you think there would be a second and the second made you think there would be a third and here it is years and several titles later and I am still wondering what the back story is for the character Sasha Goodall (Hey Dean, if your reading…I am begging you to finish this story line!)
My goal for this year is 52 books. Happy Reading!
Yesterday I had every intention of staying in my jammies and watching movies from the comfort of my bed all day. However, I had to trade it all in for being among the first dozen people to welcome into the world my new GREAT NIECE Mackenzie Elizabeth. We (Breanna and I) have already nicknamed her. Breanna calls her “Mickey” and I call her “Z.Z.” because both of her names have a Z in them. So looks like I will probably combine it into “Mickey Z”
The video is crap until you get to about a minute and 20 seconds. The background conversations are goofy but ignore them and admire the cuteness.
Mackenzie was born December 16th at 8:14pm weighing 7 pound 1/2 an ounce and measureing 20.5 inches.
Some of you may remember this video when her Aunt Kira was born 2 years ago on the same day (yes I said HER aunt Kira… how funny is THAT!)
Sometimes the oddest things will strike a chord in me.
A crumpled piece of paper nearly brought me to tears.
This particular piece of paper happened to be an application for the Adopt a Family program that we offer to members of our church.
I recall mailing the application to this family some time ago. You could tell by the condition of the paper that it was at one time aimed toward the trash can. I can actually see it in my mind. The mom or dad filling out the application and then because of pride and/or frustration or feeling that there are people in greater need they grab the paper and make that growling noise we all can make when overcome with this kind of frustration and they end up just wadding it up and throwing it away. Only to have the other person take it out of the trash and convince their partner that they really do need help this time. Sometimes pride can be a huge obstacle to overcome.
Then there are the applications that come in that appear to be tear stained. Single parents who don’t have that partner to help carry the burden and so they have a double dose of pride to swallow.
I see these pieces of paper and know that these people sometimes identify with them…stained, crumpled. We still need to love them…He does.
The scene:
7:15am, still dark, moon out, stars twinkling, Orion visible in the morning sky.
Truck is in reverse, I look over and Breanna (a.k.a Miss Crazy) is trying to bend the laws of physics and see the sky out of her window with the window still rolled up.
“You can still see the stars this morning.”
(She acts irritated that I interrupted her star viewing with (of all things) WORDS)
“Science class ruined stars for me”
“How so?”
I dont recall her explanation but somehow finding out about gases, and the fact that we can see the light from stars long dead… having that KNOWLEDGE irritates her. She mentioned something about the stars in her head, and I told her that the stars in her head could all be alive and made up of bubble gum if she wanted them to be. She explained how that would interfere with her liking things to be logical. My response:
“Being angry at Science for explaining the stars to you is not logical”
Remainder of trip to school….silent.
I hate emails that say “forward this to 5 billion people or all your family, friends, pets, accquaintances, neighbors and total strangers within a five mile radius will perish!” I received this is one of those messages. I really like MOST of the “bits of advice” and this way I can share and play a game all at the same time.
Here is the game. WHO of my dear readers can guess which THREE of these I do not totally agree with. Twenty million points to the winner.
ONE.
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills
will be as important as any other.
THREE.
Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR.
When you say, “I love you,” mean it.
FIVE.
When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.
SIX.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN.
Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT.
Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.
NINE.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life
completely.
TEN.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN.
Don’t judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN.
When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
FOURTEEN.
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk..
FIFTEEN.
Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson
SEVENTEEN.
Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
TWENTY.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE.
Spend some time alone.
Part of the BC team heading down into the museum level
My favorite Friday moment was about 20 minutes before the hall closed a gentleman came in with his high school aged son. He told me how he grew up in Indiana and has been a huge Notre Dame fan all of his life and today he finally had the opportunity to visit and as soon as he drove on to the campus he started crying. He seemed embarassed because he had cried like that in front of his son. His son said it was no big deal and I said to him “Thirty years from now, you are going to look back, and be very grateful for that moment” and his dad just grinned. It was very touching…they almost made me cry.
Saturday morning started at 7am setting up for a Corporate Tailgate Party for Blue Chip Casino. Fun times…a little chilly, but fun times.
Once that was up and running we prepared for Rocket Ismail’s autograph session. After he arrived and we were escorting him downstairs I told him that a gentleman claiming to be his high school coach had been hanging around all morning. At that moment the gentleman started walking toward us so I pointed him out and the look of joy and the bear hug that followed (my favorite Saturday moment) led me to believe that Rocket might be a few minutes so I ran down to tell our gang to tell his fans that he is in the building but would be a few more minutes.
During past autograph sessions I have learned that people are REAL specific about HOW they want their memoribilia signed. This sessions most popular request was “Rocket Ismail #25 1988 National Champions” now I know that does not sound like a lot but there was a great deal of stuff to be signed for a great deal of people…can you say HAND CRAMP…so Rocket asked if he could just sign his first name and so we informed the crowd that he would only be signing “Rocket #25” – some people were pretty insistent and this is where I came in – I had the privledge of being the voice of Rocket and telling people “No”. When people would still ask him to autograph the entire Constitution on their piece of memoribilia he would smile and start and I would say to them “He is way to nice to tell you no, but I will, he is only going to be signing his first name.”
There was also the rule about not coming behind the table…many tried shoving through…so I grabbed a couple of our male volunteers and turned them into Rocket’s bookends. There was one exception to this rule: There was this little girl who was decked out in ND gear and she even had a button on declaring that she was “Gabriella Superfan” which was just too cute. So she will be on the website.
While all of that was happening we had people setting up the Press Box for a Post Game Celebration party.
<—Pressbox view showing the windows that look out toward the river.
Pressbox view showing the Heisman Art Gallery —>
During set up, the elevator got stuck – had to fix that, and a toilet got clogged – had to fix that.
At 4:00 I handed the reigns over to Joe A. and rushed home so that we could get to church in time for my husband to get his directions for serving on our First Impressions team during all five services.
Good Times.
Everyone at one time or another gets a song stuck in their head. I may have to TRY to get this one stuck in the heads of my kids.
Thanks go out to Jen F. for sending me this awesome video!
It makes you just want to save it on a DVD and play it for your kids EVERY morning…
(If anyone knows who this lady is, could you please let me know)
Just Venting...or something like it 