Announcing the winner… August 23, 2009

Sorry guys – I’m unconscionably late with this post announcing the winner of my fabulous giveaway. I’ve been busy weedwacking (more on that later), singing, organizing choir music (for I am now the fearless choir librarian, although my name is not Marion) and learning how to play tennis. Now, Iunderstand if all trust is eroded forever, but I hope that you can forgive me. After all, remember all the good times we’ve shared?

And the winner…selected by random draw by my roommate who has no connection to you awesome commentors because as you know I can’t choose – you’re all just too amazing. If I had to choose I might go into the fetal position and cover my ears and hum until someone could talk me off the ledge.

The winner is a relatively new reader of my blog (now I know how Ryan Seacrest feels when he’s dragging out the results of American Idol)…it’s Kate! (www.thequirkyredhead.com)

Congratulations, Kate! I’ll be in touch (if this was the radio this would be the part where I’d tell you to hold on the line and go to commercial break and get all your info. I suppose an email will have to suffice).

Happy Reading!

I’m not over it… August 21, 2009

… I still heart Kris Allen! I just learned today that his CD will drop on 11/17 and much to my relief, it will contain NO country.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/20/kris-allen-album-jive-twitter/

No better way to start a Friday, am I right?? Happy Friday, Everyone!

Random Thoughts… August 19, 2009

So, I got this email from my friend Holly. I think it’s an email forward or else she’s got some crazy funny friends that I don’t know about. In any case, thought I’d give you the thoughts ’cause they’re pretty funny. And hey! Who doesn’t need funny on a Wednesday afternoon? No one, that’s who.

Random Thoughts of the Day:

 I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

 

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

 

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

 

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

 

I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

 

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase “Regards” again.

 

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.

 

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

 

Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

 

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.

 

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

 

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

 

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

 

Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

 

How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

 

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

 

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”

 

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

 

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

 

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

 

I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

  

Bad decisions make good stories

 

Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!

 

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

 

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

 

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

 

There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

 

I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

 

“Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

 

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

 

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

 

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

 

Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

 

I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

 

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…

 

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

 

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

A Book Review For You… August 14, 2009

So, my roommate and dear friend, Liz Johnson has entered the publishing world as an author…with her own book and EVERYTHING! I’m so impressed by her dedication to her writing and even though I’m not AS impressed when she has to write instead of hang out with me, I guess I understand. The discipline it takes to not only write a book, but then to hand your beloved story to an editor, see it ripped and dismembered and then put it all back together again is an amazing feat and she’s incredible.

So, here’s the deal. I’ve read The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn cover to cover and am ready to review it on this here blog.

 

Here’s a brief synopsis:

“Myles Parsons is just another inmate in Kenzie Thorn’s GED course…until his abduction plan succeeds. Terrified, Kenzie doesn’t want to believe his explanation. That he’s Myles Borden, FBI agent— placed under cover because someone wants her dead.

Now that Myles has got her out of harm’s way, his plans start to fall apart. He attempts to take Kenzie to a safe house—but the stubborn woman won’t go! He struggles to protect her even as she takes care of him. He tries to keep his distance…and finds himself falling in love.”

As I read this book, I really enjoyed the plot line. It was well thought out, the characters were all true to themselves all the way through the book and the details leading up to the big reveal were all expertly placed.  Liz wrote a spunky heroine with a tender side and a big protector with a mission bigger than himself and it was fun to “watch” their relationship grow.

I think my favorite part of this book is the heart.  I got a clear message running throughout that even though we don’t always know what God is doing, His plan is perfect and it requires perfect trust. That’s a lesson that I always need to re-learn and be reminded of and to have the faith woven all the way through – not in an “in your face manner”- was an encouragement. Plus, the thrill of the suspense and the romance didn’t suck, either.

If you like Dee Henderson or even just romantic suspense as a whole, you’ll like The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn, I’m telling you.

AND, as an extra bonus to you, I’m doing a giveaway. Because I have the hookup (I’m now the first Liz Johnson “groupie” and while I don’t get to hang with a band, I do get to be on the inside track, so that’s something…) I’ll be giving away a free signed copy of The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn.  Here’s how you win: Answer one or more of the following four questions in the “comments” section of my blog and you’ll be in the running to win. Just like that *snaps fingers…hours of fun that fits in a purse and it’s only $5.99! I’ll announce the winner next Saturday, so not only will this be free, it’ll be fast.  I don’t mess around when it comes to reading, people.

Questions:

1. What do you like most about reading?

2. What’s the last book you read that you couldn’t put down? (I’m always looking for good ideas )

3. What book/author has impacted your life more than any other?

4. If you were writing a story, what would it be?

 If you aren’t the lucky winner but still want to check out the book after this awesome review, you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Kidnapping-Kenzie-Steeple-Inspired-Suspense/dp/037344348X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1250312613&sr=8-2

Happy reading!

Idol-ness August 11, 2009

Hey there cats and kittens, it’s Amy coming to you from…well…the living room!

I’ve tried to keep my silence. Who wants yet another opinion on what’s going on in the world of American Idol? Not you, I was sure. But now it’s to the point where I feel like my readers that don’t watch the show or keep up with the EW blogs (What? Not everyone subscribes to them on Google Reader? Weird.) may need me to keep them updated on the goings on these days. (And, yes, I know that’s a stretch. )

As always, I am your humble AI servant ready to dispense my infinite wisdom to the execs at Fox.

So, here’s the skinny. AI judge Paula Abdul’s contract came up this year.  There was much debate about that seeing as how this year, for the first time EVER, American Idol execs brought in a 4th judge, Kara Dioguardi. People, myself included,thought that Fox and 19 Entertainment might be trying to oust and replace “America’s Sweetheart” judge (aka Paula Abdul) with a 2.0 model. [Side note: Doesn't this have ALL the makings for a totally different type of reality show? Mark Burnett should really get on this...I'm just saying.] Fox offered Kara a contract for next year and because she’s not a fool, she took it. She’s on board.

Kara on the left; Paula on the right. No, I’m not talkin’ politics.

The Paula talks continued. Paula made a statement that she wanted to be on the show for as long as the show was on the air. Fox claimed they wanted Paula and couldn’t imagine the show without her. Cue sappy music and slow motion running toward each other with arms outstretched…running and running and SCREECH.

There was a small wrench. I’m not really sure what happened because I’m not actually in the loop any more than an average person. But at the end of the long drawn out press release battle, Fox/19 Entertainment offered Miss Abdul a 30% raise that would have put her in the eight figures salary range (Oops! Sorry. I’m drooling a bit. That’s gross, please excuse my awful blog etiquette.) and she turned them down, declining to return.

Since that time, So You Think You Can Dance has been in talks to have her on as a guest judge, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars has indicated interest, and there’s a rumor floating out there that she might be looking to do a(nother) reality show. Apparently she’s done a reality show before, but I had no idea.

So, what do I think? I think it’ll be interesting to see how next season shapes up, but I can’t say that I’m heartbroken. Usually I cringed when it was her time to offer her thoughts to the contestants because she couldn’t spit her words out and often didn’t offer that much of value (though this year was a little different). I found myself being suprised if she had something interesting to say, which is probably not what you want people to say of you when you’re a judge. Sure, Rand-dawg doesn’t always offer up more than “It was just aight for me” or “You worked it OUT”, but at least he does quickly and I understand everything that he’s saying.

Is Kara an improvement on Paula? I don’t know. I think she had good things to say, but she’s a little more aggressive and she’s constantly standing, yelling, and pointing her finger at the singers, which also makes me feel a little uncomfortable. However, I did like a lot of her earrings, so there’s that.

Bottom line? Four judges is too many (even though there’s talk of Fox replacing Paula’s chair bringing the total judges up to four again. Sigh.). And even though our host Ry-Ry really needs to step up his game to get back to the former “zinger” glory, as long as he and Simon stick around I think we’re good.

What are your thoughts?

Search Engine – Yep, It’s Optimized August 5, 2009

So, I google things all the time. I don’t think I’m alone, right? Search engines, to me, are the most incomprehensible invention ever. The world wide web? Forget about it – I have no concept of how it even works.

I do remember first discovering search engines in college. My friend Megan sent me to dogpile.com to research a paper and my life was never the same. Seriously? Dogpile.com? Oh, you better believe it’s still out there doing it’s darndest to compete with yahoo and google.

 Well, if you like to read, I’ve got a blog post in the works that will change your life, but since it’s taking me forever to finish it (mostly I’ve been using my creative juices to embroider lately), I thought I’d share some of the most random things people type into search engines (maybe even dogpile.com) to find my blog.

• Lawn mowers with bags - 17 views

People are, apparently, really interested in what I have to offer on the lawn mowing front. I can understand that, being a veritable expert on the subject (*looking around wildly for lightning to strike me down dead). In actuality, Liz is the one that rocks the mowing at our house, I’ve only done it that one time. And yes, I know I’m a terrible roommate. My intentions have been good and my actions will back it up soon!!

• Marble architechture detail - 13 views

Lots of people out there are aspiring Michaelangelos. This, if nothing else, backs it up. I’m certain that these viewers did not depart my blog disappointed because of my million gazillion D.C. pictures that they could use for inspiration on their own marble projects sitting under canvas in their living rooms. Yes, Mom and Dad, I did take too many pictures. But see how it paid off??

• Holocaust tiles – 11 views

I was fascinated by these tiles when I was at the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., too, so I can understand the desire to learn more about them. Part of the fascination for me is the reason why this was the ONLY thing I could take a picture of throughout the whole experience.

• Frozen Fruits – 5 views

Frozen fruits? Really? Where did I even MENTION that in any of my blogs? I don’t know, but these 5 people do. And I hope they’re better because of it.

• Super Duper – 4 views

I don’t get this one. Who is googling this phrase? Are there seriously people that need clarification on what this means? C’mon now!

• Where have all the cowboys gone meaning – 3 views

Sorry, guys. You were probably looking for the lyrics and meaning to the song and not a diatribe on how I don’t prefer cowboys. Please accept my apologies.

• Girl mouth – 3 views

I don’t even know where to begin on this. Insert your own caption here.

• Allergic to carmex – 2 views

It’s so nice to know I’m not alone in the world. Two possibilities come to mind. 1 – people are searching out how to deal with their own allergic reaction to carmex or 2 – people are searching for this in order to poke fun. For your sakes, 2 viewers, I hope its the first option…

• Where do they sell clackers in Colorado – 2 views

Clackers? Are you sure you don’t mean CRACKERS? ‘Cause I bought a new box of Zesta crackers a few weeks ago for cheap. They go great with soup.

So there you have it, ACA readers. Enjoy your Wednesday!

It’s sweeping the nation… July 16, 2009

…or maybe just my life. What is it? The staycation! I’m now a girl on a budget, which ironically has given me a lot of freedom (no more checking the bank balance with trepidation). But I had to come to terms with the fact that I don’t have any extraneous money just lying around for flights or roadtrips. Let’s just have a moment of silence.

<silence>

Okay. Moment over. I know I’m not alone in cutting back on traveling funds. However, my employer gives me a ridiculously awesome amount of vacation time and so the thought of a staycation was born. And may I just say that it’s been a little slice of heaven? It’s been such a lovely week of not having a bedtime! For real, that’s my favorite part of the whole concept, if I’m being honest. What else have I been doing you ask?

A little of this…

I’m embroidering a set of tea towels for a wedding gift. Not only do I enjoy doing it, but I love mine that my Nana made for me and that she taught me what she knew. This is towel number one that is now done (yay!). Up next, tomatoes!

And some of this…

I love watching movies late at night. One of my faves is this one…Meryl Streep is just so fantastic in it. I started this one at 11:30 one night. How am I ever going to go back to the way my life was?!

A good helping of this…

I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on release day with two very dear friends, Emily and Aaron. The movie was all I had hoped for and more (though I would have made one small change)…some of the scenes in the movie were JUST as I had imagined them while reading the books. Now that’s great literary genius.

And unfortunately some of this…

I went on a walk/hike with my former roommate Anne today and managed to bite the gravel in a daring move few would care to emulate. I scraped myself up pretty good (my hand, too, which I naively used to try and break my fall) but managed to still have a wonderful time catching up with my friend and marveling at God’s creation.

In addition to these few things, I’ve had some nice times of hanging out and conversation with friends, projects completed and lots of sleeping in.

Though I would have much rather seen my family on a vacation, if the option isn’t there I highly recommend the experience of the staycation. I’m sure I’ll be lamenting the earlier hours soon, I do feel refreshed and ready to go back to work come Monday. And isn’t that the point, in the end?

Jim-jiminy, Jim-jiminy, Jim-Jim, Jirreee July 9, 2009

My friend Holly and I were put on this earth as roommates for a reason. Well, technically, we’re former roommates, but who’s counting? The reason we were such a good pair was because I was deathly afraid of spiders (remember this?) and she was frightened by jumping bugs. You know…crickets, grasshoppers and the like. Although my heart goes into my throat every time I’m facing down a spider, I don’t really mind the hopping things. I figure…they can’t kill me, so let them be. She, on the other hand, didn’t mind killing the eight-legged creatures that gave me terrors. Are you seeing what I mean? This was a partnership, people! Forget crimes…we fought the creepy crawly underworld and won quite a few skirmishes.

I’ve thought of our former partnership many a time since I moved out to Colorado because out here the crickets abound. I’m glad I’m here to face the crickets, whilst she wages war against the black widows. It just seemed destined. However, last night everything changed.

I came from the bathroom after brushing my teeth and was about to crawl into bed when I heard the dulcet tones of a cricket in my room. How could I be sure that the little guy was in my room? Well…it was loud. Very loud. Because of that, I came into the dark room trying to listen closely to triangulate his position. I narrowed it down to a corner of my room and moved things around a bit to draw him out of his wee little hiding place. It was at this point that he went radio silent.

Thinking to outsmart him, I turned out all the lights again and stood in the doorway of my bedroom, barely daring to breathe. Nothing. Five more minutes and…nothing. No sound. Oh well, right? I’d done my due dilligence and a little part of me was kind of concerned that he’d jump onto my face while I slept, but I was reasonably confident that I’d be fine and nothing bad would happen as a result of me letting him go free. As I laid my head down to sleep, the cricket was the farthest thing from my mind and I drifted into slumberland only to be JARRED awake by the squeaky sounds of the cricket.

Remembering my trick of hunting him down that silenced him so well the last time, I made a lot of noise in the same vicinity until…ha! My plan worked. Satisfied that I had foiled the cricket once more, I went back to sleep. Not long after, I was again ripped out of a sound slumber only to hear him making really loud chirping sounds. Seriously? What’s was he doing? The cricket equivalent of smoke signals? Sheesh.

At this point, I was thoroughly annoyed. I think we all know by now that I value sleep above many things and I was not going to let this cricket win the battle of the airwaves. I threw my blankets off, bounded to the light switch with a fury rarely seen and turned and glared around the room (what? my eyes were getting adjusted to the light). I saw nary a movement. I lowered myself onto my hands and knees and forcefully yanked out items that I was storing under my bed. I moved everything out of the corner I thought he was in. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Exhaustion took over and I resigned myself to giving free reign to the little critter. I just couldn’t look anymore. 

I woke up a few more times because of the cricket and finally used a pillow to keep the noise out long enough to get a little rest. When I woke up (for real), I looked like a harried and disheveled shadow of myself. All day long I fought to stay awake at my desk (I was really busy, which helped a lot).

You can imagine that I entered the nocturnal hours with a fierce determination to win the next battle with the cricket. Most of the evening hours passed with no sound of the cricket from my room. But 10:00 PM rolled around and the chirping commenced. Determined to not leave any proverbial stone unturned, I turned my room into a true disaster area. I pulled EVERYTHING out from under my bed. I moved a bookcase and a small wooden chest. I used a flashlight to sweep under the bed.

Now it’s 10:46. During  my “creative rennovations” to my bedroom, the cricket, naturally, again fell silent. I’ve turned off the lights and am a good distance away, waiting for the telltale sounds of the cricket. This time, I will not be denied. I will have a cricket carcass trophy by the end of this night! My game face is on. My shoe is sure. Now I can only wait.

Sum sum summa’ time July 7, 2009

So, summertime is simultaneously fun and frustrating for me.

Fun

• Playing volleyball on Monday nights in the park. It’s so awesome to be able to be outdoors, meet people outside of my normal group, and get exercise all while playing a sport that I love.
• Having summer hours at work. Sure, working that extra 45 minutes Monday through Thursday makes me want to shoot my face off most of the time. But getting off at 1:00 on Fridays? Priceless.
• Flip-flops. What was once an every-day-wear item when I lived in SoCal is now a to-be-savored seasonal extravagance. Hot weather = flipity flopping all over the place.
• So You Think You Can Dance. Music, correography, the youth of America…all wrapped up into a nice and neat reality show.
• Iced tea. It’s back in season and there’s nothing quite like it on a hot summer’s day!

Frustrating

• Summer vacations (mine and others) messing with my social calendar
• The heat. I know, I know. You all have it worse because you live in California/Florida/Texas/insert-hot-state-here. I still don’t like it. I’d rather have the cold than the heat, thankyouverymuch. The weather and I get along pretty well during the springtime.
• Teenage over-population. They. are. everywhere. I. want. to. be.

So, I guess the good outweighs the bad. I’m just saying…

This last weekend I went to see Transformers 2 with my roommate Liz and the movie felt 5 hours long. It was 3 hours (which is still a long movie) of  me trying to decipher which robot/transformer guys were fighting which and if they were good or bad and why I cared. Lots of battles, less character development and…shall we say…plot made for a movie I’d never recommend. That being said, I think it’s totally a guy flick through and through because the guys I’ve spoken to about the movie didn’t have any qualms about singing its praises.

My new-ish favorite game is Carcassone. Remember this? Well, Carcassone is different but the same in a lot of ways. It’s building a new world. It’s strategy. But it’s not a detailed with as many rules as Settlers which means it’s easier to play with newcomers. And it’s faster – instead of playing a 2-3 hour game, one game usually lasts about 45 minutes. It’s super fun. I think you should all try it if you’re “gamers”.

I have a new purse given to me by my roommate Liz freshly back from her trip to NY. It makes me happy.

 

That’s all for now, but I still have a few “post-it” posts left, so stay tuned.

remembering the titans… June 28, 2009

…and I’m not talking about the NFL team, although to be a girl about it for just a few seconds, I really do love the colors on their uniforms the best. Light blue and red? Killer combo. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to dwell on happy news since the whole Bronco offseason has been one fiasco after another. Suffice it to say that Josh McDaniels (new coach) needs to get his act together if he’s going to win me over. Then again, I think he’s probably not trying very hard to win me over…go figure.

Ahem. This weekend Kelly and Katie came over for an impromptu dinner and movie night. Unlike some movie nights I’ve been to/hosted, this particular one did not involve a group of people wandering up and down the new release aisle of Blockbuster arguing over a suitable motion picture that all would enjoy. This one was pretty painless…we narrowed it down and amicably decided on our movie (one of the ones at home…I’m a girl on a budget) and went downstairs and fired up the DVD player.

In the midst of our decision making pow-wow, however, I discovered that Liz had been harboring a little secret*. That’s right, she actually owns one of my very favorite movies of all time–Remember the Titans!

Why do I love this movie? Let me count the ways…and for once, it doesn’t involve a romantic storyline or a cute boy.

• I heart sports movies. Even if I don’t ever watch said sport in my “real life”, I still can’t get enough of them on the big screen. Case in point, growing up I liked Little Big League and more recently For Love of the Game. Both of them are baseball movies. And I think I’ve made my stance on baseball pretty darn clear. There’s just something about the unifying effect of a sporting event. The highs, the lows, the cheering…it never fails to take me on an emotional rollercoaster ride.
• I love that these movies are mostly about people. The game provides a catalyst to bring them together, sure, but it’s in the “bringing together” of the people that really makes the movie. Whether it’s an against the odds older never-before-pro player making it on a professional sports team (Invincible) or watching the underdog American hocky team score Olympic gold against all odds (Miracle) or a jaded coach teaching a bunch of misfits how to play hocky and gaining perspective on life and what’s important (The Mighty Ducks, D2 and D3) OR a basketball coach laying the smack down and bringing hope for a future to inner city kids (Coach Carter) there’s just something about sports that I can get into. And let’s be honest…it never fails to make me cry.
• I cheer anyway. Yes, I know that the team is going to win in the final seconds of the game. I know when they rush for the endzone/base/basket/goal that the football/baseball/basketball/hocky puck will make it in. But I cheer anyway. I just get so caught up in the moment that I can’t help myself. And I feel like just a part of that win is because of my support.
• I especially love sports stories based on a true story, as is the case in Remember the Titans. The special features that highlight the real people afterwards just makes me think that I can do whatever I put my mind to.  It really happened, people. It could have happened to me!
• Remember the Titans will always hold a special place in my heart because I do love Denzel and he’s brilliant in this film. I love that a football team brings hope to a community split by racism. I love that the team sticks together and is stronger because they accept each other and work together. And I love that even though not every second of the movie is a bunch of roses, there’s still the strength of the relationships to ground the story. (Also, I had forgotten but Hayden Panettierre is in this movie as a young girl. Random!)

Watching this movie with my friend, Helen, today was so fun. It had been a long time since I’d seen it and it was every bit as good as I remembered. If you haven’t seen it or haven’t seen it lately, you should definintely watch it.

Hey, you never know! Next time you see me, I could be coaching an inner city cricket league and changing lives for the better.

*To be completely fair, Liz didn’t really hide the movie from me. She’s always generous with her DVDs and they are displayed in plain sight. I was merely exaggerating for dramatic effect. It worked, right?