I just can't stop

I wonder if this is what drugs feel like. I can't stop going back for more.
These shots are 2 years old.
All of them are from my favorite vacation in the last 10 years.
Well, kinda.
England was pretty cool too.
I have so many amazing photos from our cruise down the West Coast from Vancouver to LA.
That may be because I took about 300-400 pictures too....

Anyway,
ever since I downloaded the free actions from PW, the most generous blogger on the web, I can't stop playing with my pictures over and over.
That and my new computer and CS3.
Oh, CS3, how I love thee.
I want to crown you with diamonds and jewels.

I.cannot.stop.
It is so much fun.
It's like swimming at the beach.
It's like eating Maggie Moo's.
It's like reading Harry Potter for the first time.
It's....
You get the point.






Please forgive another post of random photos. I will eventually stop.

Maybe.

Or I may have just found something that is helping me get all this pent up creativity out. In that case, settle in for a long ride. I may be recruiting some of you for a photo shoot so I can actually work on some new photos. I already know who will be first. My little nephew substitute. And beware everyone, you will want to hug the screen when you see her. She is sweet as apple pie.



Over and out,
Cottage Girl

Listening to this song, a forever favorite since the first second I heard it. Doesn't it just give you chills?! I can't wait for their new CD this summer.

photography rant

No, this isn't a depressing post. I actually like old graveyards. They are full of magic and stories, don't you think?

I just like this picture cause my blacks are black and my whites are white. And let me tell you that is no easy task. I have no idea how I did this cause the shot is about a year old and who knows when I processed it. But aren't the blacks and whites just dreamy! I think it's the light. I just have to learn to read the light better. I want my B&W to be as yummy as this one by Tara Whitney.

But then again, I do love color. Color photos will always be my favorite. Oh, it's such a tough hobby. Too many options. Too many styles to love. Must. Practice. More. Must. Get. Better.

Rant over....

Hulu, I love you

After

moving furniture from an entire wing of one of camp's buildings to another

and going to a goodbye party for good friends,

I'm sitting at my desk making thank you cards for my sweet friends who showered me with love on my birthday.

And I'm loving every minute of Hulu and it's free, free, wonderfully free episodes of 30 Rock season 2 (I swear this show gets funnier every week). It's like having a DVR, but not paying the monthly fee or having to remember to set it correctly. Actually, it's exactly that.

Remember the days of cursing the VCR because it chose to tape 20/20 instead of Life Goes On, which just had to be on while you were at church each Sunday evening. The crying (not really) and wailing (sometimes) because Tyler (Mr. high school hotness) was supposed to kiss Becca on tonights episode (entitled something like The Bicycle Thief) and all you got was a story about how seeing eye pigs were the new wave of the future. Darn you, Barbara Walters.....wait, was that only the LGO obsessed duo (aka my sister and I)?

forget what you just read....I, uh, of course, I didn't do anything that ridiculous....no, not me....

the day of my birth

So happy to share my day with each of you who read my ramblings.
And it's Master's weekend!
Off to watch some golf....

Give me one moment in time....

That song plays in my head when I look at this picture.

"...when al-lll of my dreams were a heart beat away
and the answers were all up to meeee..."

Remember that Whitney Houston (before she went crazy) classic? Anyone? Anyone?

Don't know why I think of that song, other than this photo looks all vintagey and one momentish.

These new actions from PW have sucked me into the Photoshop black hole for most of the afternoon. They are so dreamy and beautiful that I want to jump in and swim around in their colors and layers. I've been going back through old pictures and "actioning" away.

Friday finds

The oh, so handsome "Lee Adama" had a great interview online this week. I do just love him. And hearing him talk in his British accent would make any girl swoon. Can't wait to see what happens with his character this last season of Battlestar.

How cool to hear about little ones from China accepting Jesus for the first time. This is why Shaohannah's Hope is so near and dear to my heart (not that this was a Shaohannah's family, but it's such a great reminder why that ministry is so very important.)

I'm saving my pennies and dimes for the day when this becomes a reality. To meet PW face to face?!! It's almost as good as meeting my TV boyfriend. I'd have to overcome my intense fear of horses though....

New, free Photoshop Actions from the most generous blogger around: Pioneer Woman. And they are unbelievable. I can't explain the joy I get through this little blog.

Silhouette project from Danielle Thompson. I've always wanted to do silhouettes. LOVE them. Always have.

Friday Night Lights season 2 comes out on DVD April 22nd. Sweet...

Elsie has so many fun prints up in her Etsy shop right now, especially for a Peter Pan lover like me.

I can't choose which of these fun items I love most. Yet another cool Etsy shop.

Battlestar is on tonight. yipppeeee....

I'll call him Lightning

Please enjoy this song while you read. I've been singing it all night. It was playing in my head while I was running tonight.

That's right, running. I'm still doing it. I'm not kidding when I say that it was the movie Run, Fatboy, Run that made me start. I think about it EVERY time I run now. I, also, still HATE every minute of it. I get better every time, but I still hate it.

Anyways.....I wanted to introduce you all to my new bestest friend. My new computer is installed and purring like a kitten. The internet issues are solved (mostly). This new beauty runs lighting fast compared to Old Bessie. I can finally use Photoshop CS3 (hurray!). My pictures load quick as a wink. And posting has become a joy again.

My darling, amazing (and still single, ladies) brother built this baby from scratch. He also put my old hard drive in my new computer so I didn't have to reload on all my music or pictures. The dear boy. I do love him.

I'm so thankful for it. And the best part, it was about $50 UNDER my budget for a new computer. Nothing better than a good deal!

Here's to many happy posts and picture manipulations. Cheers!

blog command center

This is Cottage Girl central.

My walls were growing mold, so I had to move my bookshelf to it's current location.

My walls grow mold often because they are cinder blocks. No insulation, lots of moisture.

I have oodles sunlight in the morning and evening.

That little circle on the ceiling is 12 inches of heat vent heaven. I've only had it for 4 years.

Before that there was no heat in here other than what blew out of the large vent in the living room.

I like books. I have too many. I still have a large collection at my parents. Sorry, Mom and Dad.

I have no storage at my house, hence the random objects sitting around the room like sleeping bags.

I like pictures.

I have a fan because my room has no air conditioning other than what blows out of the window unit in the living room. It gets hot in the summer.

My desk chair creaks really loudly.

This is my life. Glamorous isn't it?!!

A collection of quotes from my favorite novel

Green Gables (from my trip to PEI a couple years ago)

"...'Is it not funny nobody ever asked me to marry him, Mrs. Doctor, dear? I am no beauty, but I am as good-looking as most of the married women you see. But I never had a beau. What do you suppose is the reason?'

'It may be predestination,' suggested Anne, with unearthly solemnity.

Susan nodded.

'That is what I have often thought, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and a great comfort it is. I do not mind nobody wanting me if the Almighty decreed it so for His own wise purposes. But sometimes doubt creeps in, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and I wonder if maybe Old Scratch has not more to do with it than anyone else. I cannot feel resigned then. But maybe,' added Susan, brightening up, 'I will have a chance to get married yet. I often and often think of the old verse my aunt used to repeat:

"There never was a goose so gray but sometime soon or late
Some honest gander came her way and took her for his mate!"

A woman cannot ever be sure of not being married till she is buried, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and meanwhile I will make a batch of cherry pies...."



"All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer - one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going - one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doings, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world."



"I do wish that the custom of calling a dead body 'the remains' could be abolished. I positively shiver when I hear the undertaker say at a funeral, 'All who wish to see the remains please step this way.' It always gives me the horrible impressions that I am about to view the scene of a cannibal feast."



"The harbour was lying black and sullen under a dour November sky; the wet, dead leaves clung drenched and sodden to the window sills; but the little house was gay with firelight and spring-like with Anne's ferns and geraniums.
'It's always summer here, Anne,' Leslie had said one day; and all who were guests at that house of dreams felt the same."



"...the sea is a mighty soul, forever moaning of some great, unshareable sorrow, which shuts it up into itself for all eternity. We can never pierce its infinite mystery - we may only wander, awed and spell-bound, on the outer fringe of it."



"Captain Jim was a passionate worshipper of beauty. Every lovely think heard or seen gave him a deep, subtle, inner joy that irradiated his life."


"Come and sit down. It won't take long to sit an hour."


"I'll come when I can, and you come when you can, and so long's we have our pleasant little chat it don't matter a mite what roof's over us."


" Captain Jim was buried in the little over-harbour graveyard...His relatives put up a very expensive, very ugly 'monument' - a monument at which he would have poked sly fun had he seen it in life. His real monument was in the hearts of those who knew him...."


***all quotes taken from Anne's House of Dreams.

Freakin' cool

I am not one that usually enjoys tattoos. No, thank you. But this one, well, I can't help myself. I love it.
Reason number #137 that Starbuck is freakin' cool....her awesome tattoo that mirrors her Cylon hubby's.

Yes, this is another Battlestar post.
Yes, these are the clothes they wear (see, it isn't a weird costume sci fi show).
Yes, I think Jamie Bamber is h-o-t hot (plus he has a British accent in real life).
Yes, I love Starbuck and Lee together.
Yes, Friday night's episode was A-mazing.
Yes, I thought about seeing Admiral Adama in real life about 15 times while I watched it.
Yes, I am OCD with TV shows.

No, I will not stop talking about it.

Cottage girl over and out.


picture from TV Addict

Amen, for N...Y...C....

Took another trip today. This one was a little closer to home. The weather was perfect for walking about the city.

I stopped for a few moments to gaze into the fountain. Of course, I had to throw a penny in the pool and close my eyes real tight and amke my wish. The angel on top winked at me, so I'm sure that true love's kiss shall find me....

The sun began to set in my favorite part of the park. The streetlights were glowing. Don't you just want to sit down on a bench and enjoy the moment?


Oooo....my one and only Broadway musical. And let me tell you, it's worth every penny you pay for it. Go see it immediately if it comes any where near you. The story of OZ will never be the same to you again. And the music........ahh, the music.....it's perfection.

Central Park in the evening is just beautiful to me. Now, of course, this is before all the crazies and murders come out. Twilight is perfect. Midnight, not so much.


Well, hello, old friend! Remember that one afternoon we spent together? You wore your best suit and your favorite loafers. You invited your movie star friends over. Wanna do it again sometime?


And to finish out the day, I stumbled upon Ice T and the rest of the cast and crew shooting a scene for Law and Order: SVU. Too crazy. There was a poor girl covered in "blood" and adorned ripped clothes that had to lay on the cold stone for a long time as the scene was being worked on. This TV nerd (who actually hates L&O) loved every minute of it.


Ah, yes, another trip to the far corners of the world. Who knows where tomorrow will take me? China, Italy, Sweden, Iceland? Or maybe even Vancouver?

This week marks the countdown to my birthday. Gulp. Turning 31 doesn't doesn't have that same fun birthday excitement that 13 or 18 did. Even typing it makes me feel old. But I was, once again, this weekend mistaken for a college student. How wonderful considering I've been out of college for 9 years now. Double gulp. But age is just a number, right? RIGHT?!!?


ps....my trip to NYC was brought on because of this fun movie that I saw this weekend. I just LOVED Amy Adams. I couldn't stop watching her hands throughout the movie. The way she moved them was just like a Disney cartoon. And her skipping and singing. I've watched this scene at least 3 times already and have been humming the song constantly. I totally agree, sis.

I've been dreaming.....

...of the beach lately. The sand, the sun, the sound of the waves pounding the shore. The sandcastle building and late night barefoot walks with my flipflops swinging in my hands. The salt water in my hair. A book and a towel and peace. The thunderstorms in the afternoons. The wave jumping and boogey board riding. The seaweed freakout cause I thought it was a fish or shark. The sunscreen smell. The bathing suit being my constant outfit of the day. The sunglasses and hat. The beach chair that sits low to the ground.

Man, oh, man, I want some of that right now. Most of my beach memories are of Myrtle Beach were my family camped many a happy summer vacation. These photos aren't MB, but they are so beautiful that I posted them anyway. My one trip to the California beaches. Too cold to swim, but I still soaked in their beauty!





The next 2 were 2 of my favorite shots that I took on this entire trip. They are SOOC (straight out of the camera). 100% click of the button. It was that gorgeous. Sighhhhh...




And one of a beach in San Diego. I actually saw this on Veronica Mars about a year after I took this picture. It was a dog beach (people can have their dogs on the sand) that had been used on the show before, but they specifically used this lifeguard shack on a later episode. I love how the west coast beaches are so wide and sweeping that they have these enormous guard shacks with trucks that dive along the beach.


Sweet dreams of beach vacations, everyone.

Love,

Cottage Girl

Friday Finds

Another host on Today. Don't know that I'm jumping up and down excited for this one. Of course, I'll hardly ever see her anyway cause I only watch from 8-9am. Is anyone else's morning coffee the Today show?

Attention. Attention.....BATTLESTAR BEGINS TONIGHT.

"All the Words" popped up on my Pandora on Tuesday. I haven't heard it a while, but I remembered why I love it so. I first saw it on the one and only Scrubs.

My left kidney is up for sale once again. New Shoot Shop date. I would feel like a huge loser though with my little D50, kit lens and 50mm. But I can't even imagine how much I would learn. Sighhhhhhhhh.

MySpace Music. I listen to it constantly. It's drove me crazy that my new computer still had a glitch that won't let the music player work until my genius brother fixed it finally. This week's listens include: Seabear, ADELE (found on ZB's page), Cary Brothers, Joshua Radin (for his new stuff. must buy those) and She and Him.

Anthropologie's April catalog. Always inspiring. I LOVE the cover. If only I could afford their clothes.... Their home catalog is fun too.

You make fun of me, don't you? Just because I watch Battlestar Galactica, not only watch, but LOVE. Well, well, well.... look who else loves Battlestar. Did you also notice the ads all over Yahoo and Hotmail for the premier tonight? BSG was EVERYWHERE this week! Example: one, two, three (I didn't read this one because of the spoilers).

Tara's cozy office is adorable, isn't it?!

A fantastic artist on Esty.

I know I mentioned it last week, but it's so good it's worth more gushing. The new Pioneer Woman is so amazing. Addictive, I tell you. Just look at this cute picture. And this post on Wednesday was a perfect example of how wonderful it is.

Love these SP's on Flickr.

NBC announced its fall programming early this year. Good new for me! I almost exclusively watch NBC, so I'm ecstatic to see Friday Night Lights, ER and Chuck back on the schedule. Also, good news that Scrubs will almost definitely be back, but one ABC for another season. Yippeee!

I would like one of these for Paris, London and Tokyo. Urban always has such fun jewelry.

I LOVE this commercial with Michael Bay. It's just awesome. I have to stop whatever I'm doing when it comes on. Hilarious. Although, I don't think FIOS is necessarily awesome...



Have a great weekend everyone. Do something fun and creative and memorable even if it's just reading a new book or watching a new movie or taking a picture that challenges you. Enjoy the moment!

I warned you it was Battlestar Day on Cottage Girl

I popped over to check out my Yahoo page and lookie, lookie what popped up in the news window. I'm telling you it's everywhere.

T-minus 1 hour and 35 minutes......and counting......

Can you tell I'm slightly OCD?

Gahhhhh!!

It's here, it's here. It's finally frakin' here!!!!
Shout to the stars and jump around in your living rooms.
Tonight.
10pm.
Turn up the volume and silence everyone in the house.
Pick your favorite spot on the couch and hunker down.

I'm giddy with excitement.
I'm smiling like a crazy person every time the ad pops up on Yahoo or Hotmail.
I'm listening to the soundtracks all day non-stop.

And to those of you who don't care one snitch, well, too bad.
It's Battlestar Day on Cottage Girl.
Grin and bear it.

Today I took a little trip

Hollywood was lookin' great. Grauman's was in all its glory. Bright colors and crowds surrounding it.


Across the street, the Roosevelt was beckoning me to step inside and soak in the old Hollywood glamor.

Clark Gable's feet were directing me inside to sit down and enjoy a movie.

And Jimmy Stewart...oh, I had to stop and step on his square. He IS old Hollywood to perfection to me. So tall and handsome. Wonder what it was like to see him dip his hands in the concrete that day?


The dance master himself. I still get mesmerized by his steps every time I pop in one of his movies. HolidayInn and Funny Face, my two favorites. Hi, Fred. What was it like here in 1938? Did it still have that early Hollywood magic?



After my visit with the stars, I drove around to see some of the stars homes. I was hoping to catch sight of Vincent Chase and the guys, but, alas, they were laying low today. The Osbourne's weren't home either.

The gang at Sacred Heart must have been inside saving lives.

And the office guys at Dunder Mifflin must have been in their conference room. I really wanted wanted to see Jim and Pam, too. Oh well....


Before I got discouraged, I zipped over to Central Perk and grabbed a cupcake and a cup of Earl Grey. The couch was so warm and cozy that I snuggled up and fell asleep.....

The end.

Programming note

The Dateline that tells the story of the 2 girls in a case of Mistaken Identity is on MSNBC again tonight. Not sure what time, so check your local listings.

The families are also on Oprah today. Again, check your local listings for time.

This story is incredible. You won't be able to forget it.

More hardrive clean-up

The Cherry Blossoms last year. My parents happened upon the Cherry Blossom Festival this year and said it was a mad house. Thousands and thousand of people come to see these trees every year. I must say, they are stunning. Just look at the colors!



I have no idea where this picture was taken. It reminds me of the trees in my backyard growing up, but I know it's not them. It also reminds me of Hawaii and the big beautiful trees they have there, but it's not them either. Who knows....



The munchkin on the same kitchen floor that I used to crawl around on. When I was little it was dark red and black though. He's getting so big. Well, big-ger. He's actually a little peanut for his age. This was just 2 weeks ago when he was down for Easter.
And that's my grandma. This was her first time down to our house for a holiday without my grandfather. It was strange not to have him at the table.


I'm sure there are more treasures to be found. I need to dig up my Hawaii pictures and drool over them again. I wish I had my digital camera then, but, alas, they are all on 35mm film. Ah, the good old days.

*****a new poll is up till Friday. Play along, won't you?!

the little island that changed my world...Part II

Our little adventure in this whole new country had begun....

I fell into bed that night and slept like the dead. We had traveled from midnight on Friday until 7pm on Saturday.

And I forgot to tell you that a "bus" ride in Jamaica is nothing like a bus ride in America. For one thing, the "bus" is more like a large mini van and is not really safe, nor fit for extensive travel. (It seems these vehicles are very popular in the Caribbean though. I've since ridden in several on different trips to different islands and they are all as scary and unsafe) Not only did the van feel basically collapsible, but the roads were nothing but twists and turns. And I mean hairpin turns, not wide sweeping curves. Add to that, no lines on the roads, animals IN the roads, and absolutely NO traffic rules. You want to pass someone on a hairpin turn? Fine. Just beep your horn and go for it. You have to have a horn there or you would die. There are no lines on the roads. There are no shoulders separating you from the cliff edges. There are no road signs. It was like a U2 song. I distinctively remember seeing headlights coming straight toward us once and knowing we were going to die right then and there. It was an adventure.

So, I fell asleep after long day of travel so happy for my little bunk with foam for a mattress and nothing but cold water to wash up with . That's right. No hot water. I had never been in a place like that. Princess? Maybe, but I think more sheltered than anything else. Now truth be told the Deaf Village did have hot water, but only enough to wash dishes. Not enough for 40 people to take showers etc... Also, in Jamaica water is a valued resource that is NEVER wasted. For example, you don't flush the toilet every time you go. There was a sign above the toilet that said "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, wash it down." They didn't mess around. Also, the water was unsafe to drink. No quick drinks out of the sink. Talk about a learning curve. But in all honesty, I didn't really care. And no one complained about any of it. We did laugh and joke about it, but never complained. We were all so excited to be there.

I woke up the next morning so excited to see my surroundings. Let me tell you, it was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. Jamaica's beauty, like Hawaii, isn't just it's beaches, but its mountains. We were a good 3-4 hours inland, no where near the beaches that plaster the travel brochures. The mountains are lush and green and just beautiful. Our little compound was smack in the middle of a tiny valley.

We had the nicest Jamaican ladies who came and cooked for our group. They were employed by CCCD to cook for all the groups that came into the Deaf Village. And the food was superb. All the fruit and vegetables were fresh. The bread tasted home made. It was delightful and made with love. Our breakfast that morning was eggs, fresh grapefruit and bread.

Since it was Sunday, we left the Deaf Village, which was still being built, and headed to the Knockpatrick Campus where we would do a church service for the kids that lived and went to school there. We had practiced several dramas before leaving the US that we were going to do for the kids. Two of them were mimed, using only music as a backdrop, so the kids could understand what was going on (remember they were all deaf). The third one was Carmen's The Champion (ah, Christian 80's music), which we had an interpreter for, so the kids would understand what was going on.

The kids LOVED these. After we finished them, and one of our leaders did a little talk, the kids ran up on stage and started doing all the skits over again. It was so cool to see that they had been paying attention. Not only paying attention, but understanding it too.

They also did a skit for us and their choir "sang" (picture above). We then went and had lunch with the kids in their school's cafeteria. I got to talk with some of the girls, and also realize how little sign language I knew. It was very slow going for me, but they were so patient and just LOVED asking about our boys. The girls asked me and one other girl on my team if they could braid our hair. I, of course, said yes and and they took us to an empty room and braided our hair in perfect little braids all over my head. When they finally finished and we had given them something as a thank you/payment, we went outside to find that the rest of our team had left us. They had gotten back into the vans and driven all the way back to the DV without us. Embarrassing! They realized what had happened after they got there and a van came back for us. Fun times.

We had dinner and then had a devotional time with our group. It was an amazing time for me. I was so excited to be surrounded by a bunch of 20 somethings that were passionate about God. They all longed to know Him more. It was so neat to sing songs and praise the Lord together with them in another country and realize that God was there with us just like He was back at home in the US.

This was the first time I began to understand that God was a global God. I had heard it for years from missionaries that had visited our church back at home, but it didn't really sink in. I began to see God in the faces of little deaf children. I saw him in the eyes of the poor that we passed as we drove up the mountains. God was so very real to me in those moments. More real and more alive than I had ever experienced before. I was slowly realizing that this trip was changing my life forever.

to be continued.....

Peek through the windows..

...of my little cottage and this what you will see.

First, my living room. This window faces North. You can see some of the camp buildings and the water behind them.

This window faces the west and in the evenings is a slideshow of sunsets. I can sit here for hours and stare. These are our two piers. In the summer time, the furthest one has 2 power boats on their lifts and a sailboat tied up. The beach is full of kids laughing and playing. It's the hub of summer fun here. I can't wait for it to come alive again.


This window is right next to the pier window. You can see the river here too, and our little porch, which is not usable at the moment. It's screened in and lovely when its clean and warm outside. Its spring cleaning is imminent. I sit here lots and lots during the warm months. It's a perfect spot at the end of the day to sit and watch the water.


The kitchen window looks into one of our oldest camp buildings. The boy campers stay in it during the summer and I can always see flashlights swirling after lights out. In the background at the moment, you can see the boats all wrapped up in their winter coats.
The other kitchen windows over the sink looks out across the field to the rest of the camp dwellings. Our own little commune. I love that I can see lights on at night and know that friends are nearby.


The kitchen door, the main door of our house has a "screen" door. I love having it open when the weather allows.

My bedroom window in front of my computer faces the river as well as the back of our large climbing tower. You can also see Jacob's ladder and our high element if you look carefully. This is another high traffic area when camp is going on.



My other window faces The Bro's dwelling. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have him so close. I love that I only have to walk across the field to see him.

There you go. The windows to my world. The best thing is that I can see the water in some way from every window. And there is nothing better than living on the water. It's definitely one of the best things about living at camp.

Time to give in, my dear

After watching Pride and Prejudice for about the 158th time today {158 viewing overall, not just today, silly} (it was on TV while I was cleaning. I HAD to watch it and then turn the satellite off and pull out the DVD cause I got to impatient with the commercials. I just had too...), I decided that I cannot be a good sister any more with out forcing my younger sibling to not only view this movie but fall in love with it as I did (and do). Whew, that was a long sentence....

You see, my dear readers, she refuses to watch said movie. Now for those of you who do not have the wonderful pleasure of knowing my sister like I do (since birth and beyond), you may not understand her iron strength of will. When she gets something in her head, you can forget about changing her mind.

Case in point...when we were small, we had a old, brown, file box of Barbies. Yes, a file box. It was won at a school auction for about $2. Jam packed full of Barbies and accessories, this box was my sister's favorite thing to take on vacation and lucky for her, it fit right under our old Ford van bench seats, stowing her precious goods until Barbie time arose. Now, truth be told, I did not love Barbies. I know, I know, what was wrong with me...yadee, yada, ya. It just wasn't my thing. I would much rather have been playing orphanage with my Cabbage Patch. Anyway, when she decided it was Barbie time, that meant it was Barbie time for Cottage Girl too. I would fight her on it, oh, yes I would. Then she would tackle me in the seat and pin me down, seat belts intact of course, Mom. I may have been older and bigger, but she fought dirty and had an iron grip of a 40 year old man. Or she would stare at me and not look away until I would say yes. Or she would sing out loud until I would say yes. Or she would try and lick me until I would say yes. Do you get the idea? She doesn't give in. It's her way or the highway.

So, my dear sister. You know I love you. You know that I only want your best in the viewing of movies. You also know I was right when I forced you to watch Sense and Sensibility again and you LOVED it. You know that The Bro and I were right about Battlestar. So, won't you please put Pride and Prejudice in your Netflix queue. You will love it. I just know it.

And you, dear readers, many of whom I know love and adore this movie as I do, leave a little comment for my beloved sister and convince her to give in and fall in love with it like we did.

Sorrow and Hope

Did anyone else see Dateline last night? I had been hearing all about this story of these 2 families and their tragedy all week on the Today show since Matt Lauer was the one who conducted the interviews. For some reason, I remembered at exactly 9pm last night that it was on and I turned the television on.

The story is almost unbelievable. Two girls in an accident. One is severely injured and goes into a coma. Her family stays by her bedside for 5 weeks, praying she will be healed. The other is killed instantly and her family morns her death and buries her. Then it is discovered that the girls were mistakenly identified at the crash scene. The girl in the coma belonged to the family that had buried their daughter 5 weeks ago. See? Unbelievable!

And while the story in itself is enough to make you want to watch, that isn't what impacted me. It was the fact that both of these families have a strong faith in the Lord. They aren't just "Christians," but they walk with Him. His presence is so very evident in their lives. You can definitely see it in the video clip I posted at the top. I was so encouraged by their faith and their courage to display it for all the world to hear on television. Their humility was inspiring. God is using their story to impact lives and further His kingdom around the world. I found myself praying for Matt Lauer as he was shown Jesus in the flesh through these people.

It is a heartbreaking story with so much hope. And I know the hope was evident because of the Father who loved each of those people involved more that we will ever understand.

Friday Finds and a new poll

Be still my heart....there may be another season of Scrubs.

Post one and post two from one of my favorite blogs Hula Seventy.

Found this fun blog, sfgirlbybay, on Tara's blog. I like this little reminder.

It's like a reunion with all my old friends. How cool! I still watch Buffy over and over.

Flickr beauties and favorites. This one had me staring for a while. Doesn't it just make you want to go outside and sing?!

The God-box thoughts from The Bro. Well spoken! Doesn't your heart just hurt for Bill Gates, though?

Every time I watch Marie Antionette (one of my newer favorites) I want to rent a costume from the time period and do a photo shoot around camp. Anyone want to be my model?!

Pioneer Woman is finally back up and running with a whole new look. I must say that I was going crazy not being able to read her every day. I missed it! It's so easy to see why she is so loved through out the internet world.

Entire room in a box. I kid you not.

Who doesn't need this reminder constantly! I love this reproduction. Keep Calm and Carry On, everyone.

Photoshop for free. Still need to try it out, but it looks pretty amazing.

Blogger has this sweet feature that lets me do a poll of my readers. I can make up any thing I want and have you vote on it. Fun stuff! I have been wanting to do it for a while, so I'm taking it out for a test drive this weekend. Let me know what you think!
You can find it on the right under my picture. --------->

Happy Spring weekend to you all!

lookie, lookie

I was typing out an email to my mom today when the advertising banner caught my eye. Now, I never click on those things, but this one....well, I made an exception. It made me ridiculously happy inside. The countdown begins. One week from today. Finally a reason to watch TV again!

Last night. The Bro and I watched the extended version of the episode "Unfinished Business." It was included on the brand new Season 3 DVD's. SO GOOD. And extra 25 minutes of amazing story telling in my favorite episode of the season. It made waiting till next week even harder.