Chick Flick Support Group

I'll admit that I am a fan of Chick Flicks. My cousin recently came to stay with us overnight. I think it was about the time that I was writing the quizzes for my Mom's English class on Austen's Pride and Prejudice. He insisted that he has known too many girls whose ideas of love have become warped by Jane Austen movies. I tried to disagree, but to no avail. He was not to be persuaded.

I think that chick flicks are like medicine. They are good in small doses. If you are sick of Love, it might be a good idea to break one out and put it in the DVD player, to remind yourself (after you have become emotionally stable, else you run the risk of "accidentally" throwing something at your TV) that love really does and can and should exist in your life. But just like any medicine, if you take too much you either become addicted or you make yourself even more sick. In this case your "sickness" can warp your beliefs of what Love really is-most of the time without you even realizing that it is happening. And if you claim not to be addicted, take a real look in the mirror before you walk away. The first step is admitting you have a problem. =]

I'll admit that I own a large variety of Jane Austen movies, and a good number of "chick flicks" that I have deemed worthy of spending $7.99-19.99 on. Amazon frequently suggests such movies to me. But there are many out there that try and sell love, turning it into something cheap and unrealistic. I hate those movies. Most of them, despite weak efforts to incorporate some kind of moral in to their stories, end up selling a cheapened version of what real love can become, thus warping young single minds worldwide. No, thanks. I'm not buying.

So why am I even writing this? Yesterday I ended up at Hollywood Video. I was on a treasure hunt for Season 1 or 2 of Psych for my Mom (see previous post. The season premier was last night). No one had either. Even my Dad's beloved Fry's failed me. And they have everything! Anyhow, I was going to leave HV, because they didn't have Psych either, but then decided to roam around and see if there was anything that I wanted to rent. I remembered that there was a comedy out based on the Snow White fairy tale. A friendly associate helped me find Sydney White. It looked teenie-bopperish but cute. Then, as I was heading towards the counter I saw another movie that I'd had a vague interest in-Penelope. It was also fairy-tale like, so I decided to make a weekend of it, and immerse myself in fairy tales.

Sydney White was not bad, but if you ever want to see a really cute, sweet chick flick, then check out Penelope. It's about a girl who is cursed with the nose of a pig. It's magical and smart and funny and makes you want to become a better, stronger version of you. That's the story I look for in movies. So I guess Amazon can check off one more romantic comedy for this girl.

P.S. I'm listening to the classical music station, and the song they were just playing was written by Paul McCartney. Did you know he wrote classical music? I didn't. I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even catch the title of the song. Sad day...

Random is Bestest

I have nothing to really say tonight, which sometimes makes for the most interesting posts. I guess we'll see.

This last week, for 3 days straight, all I was doing at work was painting and moving furniture and painting some more, then putting stuff away and cleaning once the furniture was all finally in the right place. And then painting some more. We moved into a new clubhouse. It's nice and big and has room outside for a basketball court and maybe even a little garden. I won't be there long, but it will be fun to help them get started. Plus I have now realized the value of painting a room "two-tone." It's where you have most of your room painted a neutral color, and then one "accent" wall a deep or bold color (one that would be too overpowering if you painted the whole room that color, but adds just enough pizazz if you have one wall painted that way). After I came home the second day my Mom, who is trying to re-do some of our house, took me to Home Depot to choose some possible paint colors. I tried to convince her of the benefits of a two-toned wall (I was channeling my inner-interior designer-something that doesn't happen too often), but alas, she was not to be convinced (as of yet. I think I still have a chance. I'm wearing her down slowly).

Have you guys ever seen Psych? It's basically my favorite show ever. It has Dule Hill in it. He played Charlie in The West Wing, and he's great. James Roday plays the main character, Shawn Spencer. He's basically the most hilarious character ever. He's this guy who has a talent for noticing details, and he uses it to solve crimes and convince everyone else that he's psychic. And what's also great is they make a ton of references to movies, tv shows, and music from the 80's and 90's, so every episode turns into one of those "remember when" sessions you sometimes start with your friends (remember Full House, Growing Pains, and the Cosby Show? Remember TGIF? We used it watch it on an extremely old black and white tv in Rachel's room, and beg my parents to order pizza on Friday nights while we watched it)...

So, have you ever gone to the library and checked out way too many books that you know you won't have time to finish--but you're really hoping that this time you will? That was me, yesterday...and for the next three weeks. So hopefully I can get them done. Plus, I purchased another book at Barnes and Noble which so far is really good, but then it's like a toss up--do I read the library books, that are due back in 3 weeks, laying aside my new very very interesting book; or do I read my very very interesting book very quickly and then read my library books; or do I try and read them all at the same time (which is what I usually end up doing), and risk the possibility of not finishing the library books before I need to return them. Ah, the complicated decisions of life...

You know one reason I'm excited to move back to Utah? Super Walmart. Yes, I know they are the devil or whatever because they don't offer benefits to their employees, and some of the stuff they sell is slightly on the crappy side, and they kind of have a monopoly on the "general store" market. But honestly, I need them in my life. You see, out here in California our grocery stores are organized into a union ("We're a union, just by saying soooo.....And the world will know!!"--name that tune). And they have decided not to allow Walmart to join their union (which Walmart probably wouldn't want to do anyways). This decision, however, has a grave impact on my financial welfare. I'm already paying $100 a paycheck for gas. If I can buy a cantaloupe for a few cents cheaper, then I want that cantaloupe a few cents cheaper. Luckily, Walmart has gotten around this and is now selling every kind of grocery type item that they can without infringing on the union's standards. The only thing that they lack is the meat and produce section. So it looks like I still have to buy my cantaloupe at Vons. Until August. Muahaha.

I have to return to my lair and read 7 books at once. Farewell. =]

What are the odds?

I just got an email from my Dad. He is currently on the USNS Mercy. The ship just left Singapore, heading towards (I think) Timor. While he was in Singapore, he was able to attend church at a little LDS meetinghouse. At the end of the church meetings, the Bishop announced that there would be a fireside upstairs in the Stake Center. My Dad decided to stay for the fireside. The speakers soon arrived, and what are the odds that my Dad would know one of the speakers? He and my Dad had gone to a science camp together when they were in high school, and had been friends all through their BYU years.

Then, weirdest of all weird, my Dad met the Sister that was also speaking. She was introduced as a professor from BYU's School of Social Work. So my Dad asked her if she, by any chance, knew Rebekah Nelson. She was surprised, but said yes, she had been my professor over my 8 month internship while I was at BYU. My Dad introduced himself, and they had a good laugh about meeting each other halfway across the world. So what are the odds that my Dad, an old friend of his from college, and my college professor would all meet in a little meetinghouse in Singapore? I've never really taken statistics, but I'd imagine that the odds are in the millions.

I just want to include a little note about why Sister Sheffield (my professor) was in Singapore in the first place. The group had been returning to the US from Indonesia, where they had introduced a program that Sister Sheffield created called the Family Enrichment Program. It is based on our LDS idea of family home evening, but adapted for those who are not LDS. She has introduced this program to many different countries at meetings held by the United Nations (if I recall correctly) on strengthening family. Her recent trip to Indonesia resulted in the government adopting the family enrichment program, purchasing 280 million copies of the manual (for which Sister Sheffield gets no royalties).

What an amazing work!

Happy Fourth

My brothers and I left on Wednesday night to come up to Utah and visit my sister and our brand new nephew. We stayed at Planet Hollywood in Vegas on Wednesday night. We didn't get in until 1:30am, so we didn't really have a chance to play around, but it was still quite fun. Inside their building there is a small area that "rains." Basically there is a sprinkler system up in the ceiling, and the water drips down into a little pool. Neat concept. We then drove the rest of the way up to Woodland Hills on Thursday. I've spent most of my time after that either chauffeuring people around or holding my adorable little nephew.

Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday. What could be better than a summer day entirely devoted to family, barbeque's, picnics, fireworks, making flag cakes, and even the occasional swimming trip? I just can't think of anything that really tops it. Here is the traditional flag cake. My mom made one when we were little, and I've always enjoyed making it every year since. And no, this year I did not count out the blueberries to make sure there were fifty; nor did I make sure to put 13 rows of red and white. It still turned out just fine. It's pretty great.