"Be a work in progress” is not on my list.

Travel to Europe.
Learn to dive.
Sing professionally.
Have a Martha Stewart home.
Write a book.
Wear a Wonderbra.

I’m a big list-maker. I love me a good list. Sometimes, when I’m feeling overwhelmed, just the act of writing everything I need to do on a list relieves my stress. Seeing my life in words – accompanied by bullets, glorious bullets – is enough for me.

So it’s no surprise that, back in high school, I made a list of the things I’d like to accomplish in my life. In case you’re wondering, the lofty goals above are just a few of the items I have not yet accomplished.

What’s funny about this list – and for the record, I actually have two, one dated 1996 and another I believe was written a couple years later – is that I can look at the things I wrote down and acknowledge just how ridiculous some of them are.

But that doesn’t stop me from still wanting to do them or expecting myself to accomplish them.

Learn to dance, travel to New York City, earn a doctorate degree, solve a mystery. These are things I still think I could – and perhaps should – do. (Yes, solve a mystery. After reading and watching, literally, hundreds of suspense novels and cop/detective shows, a small – delusional – part of me believes I could do it. I mean, really, with the help of a good crime lab, who couldn’t?)

I know. It’s ridiculous. But it’s who I am.

And it’s who I’m not. At least for now. When I look at those lists, or even my 2009 Goals (also known as resolutions, but I call them goals because “resolutions” is so cliché), I see the person I want to be, the life I want to live. I see potential and possibility.

When I look in the mirror, though, I don’t always see that potential. And it’s those times that I have to remind myself that God’s not finished with me yet.

I may have gone to my class reunion overweight and still reeling from the news that I would soon be losing my job. I may have started a family before finishing my master’s degree and establishing a career, any career. And I may have a layer of dust insulating my entire house, the tiny house that is not as nice or new as any of my friends’.

But I’m still here. I’m still breathing. And God’s still working out His plan for me.

Because I am a work in progress.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Originally posted on March 26, 2009, at InProgress.

This is something I’ve learned – and have to keep learning! For more lessons learned, visit Musings of a Housewife.

I am not the poster child for Once a Month Cooking.

I can’t even begin to count how many times I have made a list of all the meals my family likes to eat, broken it down into ingredients and planned to make several of those meals ahead of time. I can, however, tell you how many times I’ve made a month’s worth of meals in one day to put in my freezer, and that is zero.

What’s that saying about a paved road and some good intentions and something?

Honestly, Once a Month Cooking is overwhelming to me. I’ve done the research, I’ve collected recipes, I’ve made my lists, I’ve even bought a package of about 50 foil pans (thank you, Sam’s Club). But when it comes down to picking a day to devote to cooking, I just can’t pull the trigger.

However, cooking a bunch of food every once in a while? That I can do.

So here are the top 10 steps to giving up on perfect and cooking a lot of stuff in one day to have later down the road.

1. Recruit your husband (or daughter or neighbor or mail man) to grill up a bunch of chicken. For me, “a bunch” was two bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
2. Buy and/or thaw 10 lbs. hamburger. Count them, because if you get halfway into your cooking and then realize you can only account for 9 lbs., well, I’m just saying you might get confused.
3. Remember that you only have one big pan, so plan your cooking accordingly. Non-meat items first, unless you really want to scrub the meat bits off in between rounds.
4. Chop up a bunch of onions. Do not attempt to photograph this activity, unless you a) are a professional or b) don’t mind having a shadow over the bottom half of your pictures.
5. Make one recipe of cheesy potato casserole and split between two pans. Wonder why the recipe insists that you fold the hashbrowns and cheese into the soup and sour cream mixture. I say if I wanted to fold, I’d be doing laundry, right?
6. Take a moment to note that it’s best not to do this cooking project late at night in the middle of the week all by yourself. I’m not saying you and a partner have to spend an entire Saturday doing this. But traveling the gamut of emotions, from gung-ho to determined to slaphappy (see #5) to dog tired, might be better saved for a project like painting the bathroom or organizing your collection of CDs and DVDs.
7. Brown 3 lbs. of hamburger at a time (twice). Add onion, garlic and basil. Portion 5 lbs. into 1-lb. plastic containers.
8. Boil water and add a box of pasta in your other pot that’s not really big enough but will have to do for tonight. Add remaining pound hamburger and spaghetti sauce. Pour into two pans.
9. Chop and slice the chicken. Portion as you’d like into plastic bags. Double bag it if you’re too cheap to buy actual freezer bags.
10. Brown 2 lbs. hamburger and add taco seasoning. Put last remaining pound of hamburger back into the fridge to use later.

If you add my husband’s grilling time to the time I spent on this project, it’s a total of less than three hours. And here’s what I got out of it:

• 2 pans baked pasta (I’ll just need to add mozzarella and bake for 30 minutes.)
• 2 pans cheesy potatoes (It’s nice to have a side dish other than corn or baked potatoes at the ready.)
• 2 lbs. taco meat
• 5 lbs. seasoned ground beef to use for spaghetti, pizza or sloppy joes
• 1 bag of sliced grilled chicken for fajitas
• 1 bag of chopped grilled chicken for pizza
• 1 bag of grilled chicken halves for my daughter’s dinners

That’s about a dozen meals, plus leftovers. And once I use that last pound of hamburger to make some mini meatloaves for my daughter, I’ll have at least that many healthy meals for her, too.

Did I accomplish everything I put on the list this time? Um, no. For one, I didn’t bake a single muffin, even though I was totally prepared.

And for two, I didn’t make chicken spaghetti, macaroni and cheese or cheesy chicken casserole. Maybe next time. Because while spending three hours doesn’t yield a full meals for a month, it makes dinnertime at our house a lot easier. And who doesn’t like easier?

And let’s be honest here. If I have chopped up grilled chicken just a microwave minute away, then I don’t really have an excuse for eating half a bag of tortilla chips with Velveeta and salsa and calling it dinner, now do I?

Not that I would do that, of course…

Originally posted on May 7, 2009, at Once a Month Mom.

For some yummy recipes that you don’t have to make in advance or in bulk, visit A Southern Fairytale.

We interrupt this blog for an important announcement:

I won't be here next week. But instead of letting this place “go dark,” as they say, I’ll be posting articles I’ve written for other blogs.

• First – no, I don’t know who “they” are or what “go dark” really means.
• Second – yes, I will stop using the quotation marks like they grow on trees.
• Third – do you think it sounds too fancy if I call guest posts “articles”?

Oh, there I go again with the quotes. I don’t know what’s come over me.

As I mentioned last week, I’m on vacation and (mostly) out of commission. I hope you’ll still stop by, but if you need to take a vacation, I’ll understand.

{Hmm…what does it mean if you take a break from Giving Up on Perfect? Does that mean you automatically become perfect during that vacation? Interesting…}

A few more things while I’m at it:

• We will not have Bible study on Monday. We’ll resume next Monday (the 6th) at 8 p.m. CST to discuss the homework from Week 3. Just a reminder – our memory verse is Philippians 4:8.
  
• Do you read Simple Mom? Tsh wrote a great post last week that I’ve been dying to share. It spoke so much to me, to my life – and I just know it will bless you, too. Or make you think. Or both. Check it out: The Clutter You Can’t See.
  
• My new favorite blog is Diary of a Southern Drama Queen. Leslie Ruth writes about her life, and I don’t know what it is – the diary? the southern? the drama queen? – but she cracks me up. And we’ve already decided to be BFFs if and when I move to Tennessee. Totally.

All right, now. You all don’t have too much fun while I’m gone. I’ll catch up with you when I get home!

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Sing it with me, now: “But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.”

Next week, we are going on a family vacation. Mark and I fly to Orlando on Sunday, spend a few days avoiding the Mouse and soaking up the Florida humidity sunshine, then head north to join my parents, Annalyn, and my brother and sister-in-law. My great aunt and uncle live in a little town in southern Georgia, and we’ll spend a few days with them.

After we’ve had all the family togetherness we can stand – and then some, I’m sure – we’ll get on a plane with Annalyn and fly home.

[Side note: Should you be a thief reading my blog (and really, if you are, I have to ask: why?), I’ll just warn you. My very sweet friend Erin will be stopping by often to feed my cats. And we have extremely nosy protective neighbors. So, I guarantee it is not worth breaking in to find that, seriously, one of my prized possessions truly is a 20-year-old VCR.]

Sorry ‘bout that. Just needed to get the public service announcement portion of this blog post out of the way. Now, where were we?

Oh yes. Something about wants and needs and 95-degree heat.

We are so excited for this trip. As you might recall, we planned this getaway to celebrate my 30th birthday and our 10th anniversary. Granted, our original plan was Jamaica . . . and our second plan was San Diego . . . but really, anywhere with a beach and no work and, for a few days, no kiddo will be all the fun we need.

So far, the plans include a trip to Discovery Cove, Sea World (thank you, Facebook friends, for voting in my poll!) and the beach. We might check out Downtown Disney, the town of Celebration or the Space Center.

But we’re keeping our options open. After 10 years of marriage, we’re still two wild and crazy kids, so the possibilities are endless.

Umm, okay, actually – at least one of us was never wild and crazy. So we’ll probably visit the Space Center. That’s pretty much a museum, right? And, okay, we might also pass out and simply sleep for 12 hours. Who knows?

Let me say it again: we are beside ourselves excited about this trip!

But a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t stop myself from focusing on all the things I’m not going to get to do, thanks to this vacation.

First of all, I don’t get to see Dierks Bentley in a free concert downtown. Smitty and I went last year, and he put on a great show. For FREE! But Mark missed it, thanks to this thing called a job. So when I saw that Dierks was coming back this summer and doing the same free show, I thought, “Oh, good! Mark can plan ahead and take the day off!” I was all sorts of happy about this. Until I saw the date – smack dab in the middle of our vacation. Of course! Of course Dierks would come to my town when I’m in someone else’s town!

Then, Chelley informs me that she and Mel are coming down to KC for a baseball game. Oh, great! You can stay with us! Yippee! Wait for it . . . yes. You’re right. They’re coming the week we’re out of town. Because apparently, it’s important to see a certain team play the Royals. (Perhaps I should point out here that Chelley and Mel are baseball fans and I, surprisingly, am not?)

Finally, as if these two blows weren’t enough, let me tell you a little story about a man named Shaun Groves. See, Shaun is a contemporary Christian singer – or, as he calls himself, a soft rock star. And, oh yeah, he’s also a big proponent of releasing children from poverty.

These days, Shaun travels all around, both overseas to see and share the work of Compassion and around the country to give free concerts and talk about Compassion. And a few months ago, he wrote on his blog that he was looking for places to give concerts this summer.

Well, I immediately contacted our worship pastor and said, so politely, “We must. Do this.” And he, ever so politely, said, “Great idea, but it’s not going to work right now.” Because I am pushy annoying persistent, I even had the nerve to ask a second time. But that guy stood firm: it’s not a good plan for our church right now. Okay, fine, I’ll survive. Even though I’m sad.

But then. Then! I see a comment on Shaun’s blog that mentions him playing a show . . . in a couple weeks . . . in Thomasville. Whaaaa? That little town in southern Georgia that my great aunt and uncle live in? Um, yeah – it’s called Thomasville. And we’re going to be there in a couple weeks! So I scour the Internet and finally track down my answer. Here's what I discover: Shaun Groves is playing one of his awesome free concerts / Compassion talks . . . in Thomasville, Georgia . . . on June 27.

In case this crazy long story has made you lose your mind or at least forget when and where I’m going next week, let me explain. Shaun Groves’ concert will take place 5 days before I get to Thomasville.

So close. And yet . . .

But you know what? I’m pretty sure that despite these things I’m going to miss, we are still going to have one amazing anniversary trip/family vacation.

I’ve got my flip flops, my sunscreen and two great books. I’ve got my baby packed and her bag is stocked with lots of snacks and toys for her first flight (eeek!). And I’ve got the most awesome husband I could ask for, holding my hand, ready to hit the road.

It turns out, the Rolling Stones might be right. You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes God blesses us with exactly what we need.

Things I Love Thursday: My Bedroom Furniture

When Mark and I got married, we pulled together a bedroom suit of furniture from - essentially - our parents' leftovers. We used a dresser from his parents and one from mine, the full-size mattress and box springs his parents bought him in the early 90s, a bedside table that once belonged to his grandfather, and eventually, a headboard my parents gave us for Christmas.

And it worked. It really did.

But after a while we longed for beautiful matching furniture, and more importantly, a bed large enough to more comfortably fit the four of us.

(You know, Mark, me and the two cats.)

Last fall, after saying for several months that we wished we were as lucky as my brother and sister-in-law who got an incredible deal on furniture at a store closing, we heard about some incredible deals on furniture at a store closing.

Long story slightly shorter, we got some new stuff - including a queen-sized bed, which is just so nice. It's like we're sleeping in a hotel every night. Except for free. Except for what we paid for the furniture. Because "deal" does not mean "free."

Anyway, check it out:

Yay! The big bed! (Please don't mind our crazy green walls. Painting them is on the list, k?)

Hmmm...the big bed with a kitty. (Or, as she's called by the kiddo: Mow!)

If I don't make up the bed, I find that kitty sleeping on my pillow. Like a person. Who belongs there. (Thank goodness for lint rollers!)

Mark's shot glass collection on his dresser. We each get a dresser - and so many drawers that they're still not all full yet!

And finally, my ironing board. What? You thought I'd have an actual board and iron? (Okay, I do have one. I just detest setting it up and, shudder, using it!)

What does your bedroom furniture look like? Antiques? New and modern? Hand-me-downs? Traditional? Modern? Tell me all about it!

And for more things loved, visit The Diaper Diaries.

Because who needs Wordless Wednesday when you’ve got so many . . . words?

Last night was quite eventful.

First Annalyn and I went to Walmart. As we pulled into the parking lot, a few sprinkles hit the windshield. I thought that was odd, considering the blue skies all around and the (dismayed) promises of our local meteorologists that it Would. Not. Rain. for several days.

We headed inside and began our shopping – yet another short list of last-minute vacation items. If only I’d thought to make one long list, perhaps I could have spent the last two weeks not visiting one Walmart or another every couple of days.

The first thing we did was drop off a prescription, where I was told to come back in 25 minutes. From there, we headed to toys. Because what makes more sense than taking a slightly tired toddler into the toy section, where you refuse to spend six dollars for Dora doll with many small parts?

As we finally headed over to the food section (this was after making another large loop around the supercenter, because I forgot that the cat food is kept in the front of this particular store), the lights began flickering.

Now, I’d heard the thunder and as we passed by the doors [again], I caught a peek of what can only be described as a torrential downpour. (“Only” because clichés are clichés for a reason, and my creative brain is not on yet today.) But considering the blue skies that I swore were surrounding the Walmart just minutes before, I was sure this storm would pass quickly.

And then, as I was debating the wisdom of buying beach towels on clearance and returning the ones I bought last week on Vacation Shopping Trip #17, the lights went completely out.

Annalyn’s face was so funny! She said, “Ohhhh!” and her eyes went wide. She wasn’t scared, but she knew something was off.

Because if there’s one thing that girl knows, it’s what a Walmart is supposed to look like. And this wasn’t it.

Fortunately, the lights came back on after a few seconds, we finished our shopping, paid and got back into the car.

I asked the kiddo if she wanted chicken nuggets for dinner, and of course she replied, “Nuggies!” with glee. However, as I navigated the mess that is Retail Land and saw the looong line at McDonald’s, I decided to head home and just feed her nuggets out of the freezer. (Well, you know, out of the freezer and then the microwave.)

Unfortunately, I realized halfway home that I’d forgotten to pick up my prescription.

So we turned around, went back to Walmart, got caught in traffic again and headed home. By that point, Annalyn was so distraught over not getting her nuggies and needing some milk that when we were caught at a stoplight (because the cars going the opposite direction didn’t bother to stop when their light turned red, so we all got to experience the joy of a late-afternoon traffic jam), I actually grabbed the gallon of milk we’d just bought at Walmart and poured some into her sippy cup.

That, thankfully, kept her happy until we got home and she caught sight of the bag of chicken nuggets. Kid is so funny – she saw me get the bag out of the freezer, but apparently missed me putting several chunks of frozen meat on the plate and into the microwave. Because when she saw me putting the bag back into the freezer? Well, as Mark says, you’d have thought I killed her favorite teddy bear. Or, you know, was refusing to feed her dinner.

I decided to take that moment to explain to her the wonders of the microwave, and disaster was prevented. She ate her “nuggies” and finally went to bed.

Just in time for me to make a sandwich and realize that my internet was still not working and there was nothing on TV.

Not to worry, Bravo chose last night as a debut for another uplifting reality series called NYC Prep. I’d like to say I didn’t watch, since I honestly don’t watch much reality TV (if you don’t count So You Think You Can Dance, What Not to Wear and Wife Swap). But I did.

I told you – event-full.

Technical Diffulties, 2. Mary, 0.

As you (hopefully) know by now, I had some internet connectivity problems last night and had to postpone our live chat. Well, I went home over lunch and tried to log on - and could not. So, rather than continue to tentatively plan on chatting tonight, I'm going to cancel this week's chat.

I'm so sorry.

This means that we won't chat until Monday, July 6 (because I am out of town on vacation next week). Please, PLEASE come back!! :) On July 6, we'll have LOTS to talk about - we'll touch on Week 2 and we'll delve into Week 3.

For now, here are a few questions and thoughts to consider. Let's discuss in the comments.

• We all have labels in our lives - words we believe (true or not, uplifting or not) describe us. What are YOUR labels? Where did they come from?
• Some labels are true. (I am a woman.) Some labels are false. (I am stupid.) I believe the author of our study was saying in Week 2 that often we develop false labels based on how we react and process true labels - leaving us with labels of FAITH (true) or FATE (false). Can you think of an example of this in your own life?
• I love, love, love how the author encourages us to focus on Romans 12:2: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
• Are you a Pharisee? Do you focus on cleaning your outside while leaving your inside dirty? (Matthew 23:25-26)
• Many of us make choices and develop habits based on faulty assumptions, just like the author did when, as a child, she thought angels were attending the Catholic church down the street. I know I often operate on faulty assumptions (I can do it myself. I must be perfect to be lovable. If I can't lose weight, I'm a loser.) a lot. What about you?
• And last but not least, we read this week about roots and fruits. What are the fruits of your faulty assumptions and fate labels? What can you do to get rid of them - at the root?

All right, friends. I hope you can forgive this mess, and I hope you'll continue on in the study and come back on July 6. Until then, this is my prayer for you:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for these awesome ladies you've brought together. I pray that you would bless them and speak to them and push them to grow through this study. I thank you for the saving grace and mercy you've given each of us so freely, and I thank you for each woman in this study who has accepted that salvation. I pray that each of us would lean on You and Your Truth only when filling our though closets, and I pray that you would erase the negative lies we've spent so many years lining our closets with and wearing in our lives. I pray for each woman in this study, God. I know we all have situations and issues and problems and burdens and joys and celebrations - and I thank you for being right there in the middle of all of it, holding our hands. Thank you for the book we're reading and The Book we continue to read. I pray you will bring this group back together in two weeks. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Happy Birthday, James!

When Mom said I'd have to share everything (except Teddy) with you, I had no idea it would include the joys of homemade clown costumes.

Bible Study Update

Wow! God has one good sense of humor, friends. Just yesterday afternoon, I told a girlfriend that I'm so hooked on everything online that I just can't imagine going without it.

And then I tried to get online to prepare for our Bible study last night. And . . . nuthin'.

A big THANK YOU to Chelleybutton for putting up the announcement. And thank you, too, to everyone for being flexible. I hope you'll still join us tonight to discuss what we learned in Week 2. And if you can't, I hope you'll share your insights, questions and thoughts in the comments of this post.

If you have been interested in studying Me, Myself & Lies by Jennifer Rothschild but can't join in here, it's not too late. Anyone and everyone is welcome to jump in at any time.

However, if you'd really like to start from the beginning, Beth Moore and her Siestas are doing this study (starting THIS WEEK) on the Living Proof Ministries blog.

Last but not least today - please pray that we have no more technical difficulties and that everything goes smoothly tonight. Chat with you at 8!

Me, Myself & Lies: POSTPONED

Hi, this is Chelleybutton, because Mary's internet is down. She's trying not to talk negatively to herself, but she really thinks God is punishing her for not doing her homework on time (but we all know that's a faulty assumption, right, girls?!;).

She's tried a dozen different things, but her computer is rebelling (like Israel!) and won't connect to the internet (even though it says it is! Argh..). So for everyone who can, let's try this again tomorrow. Same time, same place (Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. CST).

Mary's verrry sorry for the inconvenience and really hopes to see you all tomorrow (I'll be here too!:).

And I still haven't found what I'm looking for . . .

We had a full weekend. Lots of blog-worthy activities. I even have pictures related to these events.

But Monday posts are hard for me to write. I don't know. Maybe it's just part of my work-week-aversion. Maybe it's because I try to limit my Sunday computer time.

Maybe it's because our weekends are usually busy, and by Sunday night, I'm tired.

Take right now, for instance. I'm writing this on Sunday night, glad my headache is fading, watching Jim Gaffigan talk about bacon on my TV, and wondering how early I can go to bed and not be weird. Tiiiired.

So, for today, this is what I have for you: a little story about Google.

On Friday, I decided to make some changes to my blog. You may have noticed. But it didn't all work out right, and I couldn't figure out how to fix everything to my liking. So I went to the master of all things: Google.

Before I could type in my full search term, Mr. Google tried to guess what I was looking for. I typed, "how to," and Google came up with:

How to tie a tie
How to kiss
How to get pregnant
How to lose weight
How to make a website
How to write a resume
How to draw
How to solve a rubix cube
How to write a cover letter
How to get a passport

I just thought this was interesting. I'm assuming these must have been the most common how-to searches on Friday afternoon. I'm just wondering . . . do you think the same people were searching for instructions on kissing and getting pregnant?

Anyway.

My question for the day is: What is one thing you'd like to learn how to do?

Introducing our Cool Compassion Child.

The post below was written by Cool Dad over at Are We Still Cool? One of the first blogs I got hooked on - and still one of my favorite blogs to read - AWSC is written by two parents who have hearts for God, parenting, adventure and many other cool things.

Combining those passions, they came up with a plan to sponsor a child through Compassion - with their readers. I am excited to tell you that I have joined them in this project. Read more:

---

A few weeks ago, we introduced the idea of getting a group of AWSC? Readers together to sponsor a child through Compassion International. I’m very pleased to announce that the idea has become a reality, and that we’ve now ‘met’ our sponsored a child!

We chose to select the child who has waited the longest to be sponsored. Upon signing up, we didn’t know anything about him - no name, picture, or where he was from. We all met him together when I made a video of myself opening his information packet and shared it with the CCP members. Now, we’d like you to meet him as well.

This is our Compassion child, Josué. He is a 6 year-old boy from Ecuador. We’re thankful to God that Josué was selected for us. We hope that the CCP will be a blessing in his life. We’re positive that he will be in ours.

If you’d like to participate in the Cool Compassion Project, it’s never too late to join! Just let us know.

Saturday Review: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

When Mark and I took a day trip to Columbia, we took advantage of our baby-free time by catching an afternoon movie. Mark indulged me, and we saw the only chick flick playing: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

Usually when I write a movie review, I check out Metacritic.com to see what other critics have said. In addition to aggregating reviews from a couple dozen newspapers, magazines and websites, it also assigns a numeric value to each review to give the movies a rank from 0 to 100.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past earned a 34, which is in the “Generally Negative Reviews” category.

Hmmm.

Well, here’s the thing. First of all, I like chick flicks. I enjoy romantic comedies. Second of all, I like to be entertained by movies, and that often (but not always, really!) means unrealistic situations that lead to unrealistic happy endings. Third, I went into this one with pretty low expectations.

And last but most important, I was so thrilled to have a day with Mark to celebrate our anniversary that everything seemed better than normal.

So, with all that said, I really enjoyed this movie. It was silly, cheesy, maybe even a little offensive – but you know what? It was fun. It was funny. It had Matthew McConaughey, playing . . . himself. And I liked it.

The basic premise is that Connor Mead, a celebrity photographer, is a playboy headed down the same path his late Uncle Wayne took through life. When he goes home for his younger brother’s wedding, he faces his first – and only – love and then just happens to be visited by several ghosts.
Like I said, McConaughey plays his usual slow-talking, charming man slut who surely has a heart of gold under those slick clothes and hard muscles. His childhood friend, first love and present-day romantic temptation is played by Jennifer Garner. She is sweet, she is cute, and I like her. Michael Douglas, as a Hugh Hefner-ish Uncle Wayne, is not sweet or cute. But he is really funny, playing his role with a wink and a sideways grin.

You’ve seen this story before – both the Christmas Carol story and the jerk guy turns into sweetheart for his woman story. But if you’re not opposed to seeing those stories combined into a cheese-fest, you might like this one, too.

But just to make sure you’re getting the full story, here are a few critic quotes:

• It's gone well past cloying to see Matthew McConaughey play a ''charming cad.'' (The more he pushes the charm, the more the cad shows through.) But even if you've tired of the star's oily cocoa-butter narcissism, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past offers a solution, of sorts: It casts him as a studly photographer who is such a smarmy, dislikable [jerk] that the film doesn't pretend you're supposed to like him. (Entertainment Weekly)
• I'm almost embarrassed to admit I found "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" the season's first genuine guilty pleasure. . . Like McConaughey's love-'em-and-leave-'em photographer Connor Mead – who would qualify as self-parody if McConaughey weren't that already in real life – there's an almost irresistible cheesy charm to this unabashedly tacky spin on "A Christmas Carol." (New York Post)
• Ghosts can't make up its mind whether it wants to be a racy raunchfest or a sentimental celebration of soul mates. So it ends up being a sappy, sleazy hybrid. McConaughey reprises his cocky "player" persona to limited comic success. The lasting image after seeing it is his blindingly white teeth. The formulaic story evaporates faster than cotton candy, and it's often as cloyingly sweet and tacky. (USA Today)

Wow . . . poor Matthew McConaughey. These critics don’t like him. They really don’t like him! (Please read that in my best Sally Fields voice.)

Have you seen this movie? What did you think? Was it as bad as they say? Or did you, like me, laugh in spite of all the cheese and sleaze?

And THIS is why I should never throw anything away.

Last month, as I was flipping through one of the parenting magazines I get, I saw a great ad. I'm pretty sure it was advertising a washer and dryer, and it was two full pages. The left-hand page showed a woman's face and the words, "I think my laundry breeds on its own."

Looking at that ad, I thought, "I love that! I should tear it out and . . ." That's where I got stuck. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I just knew I liked it. Kind of wished I still had the giant bulletin board from my teenage bedroom.

For some reason, I don't think Mark would go for that. Maybe if I could find a locker somewhere?

Today, Kelly is hosting a carnival called Show Us Where You Live, and this week's topic is playrooms, bonus rooms and/or laundry rooms. Annalyn's room is sometimes used as a play room (although, so is the living room), but I didn't think about it in time to take pictures. So, the laundry room it is.

Of course, our laundry room is also known as our garage, so I had this brilliant idea. I could scan that ad and use it as a beautiful graphic for this post! Aha!

Too bad that in my half-hearted attempt to prevent further cluttering of my house, I've committed to throwing away magazines the second I finish reading them.

Hmm.

Guess that means I have to show you my "laundry room" now. Okay, here goes . . .

I'm not sure why we have three gallons of bleach on that shelf. Maybe it was on sale? Three gallons for the price of two? I'm not sure. The things you discover when taking photos of your house!

Also, you may notice that to the left of the washer is a big, cement sink. (Or is it concrete? I'm too lazy to look it up right now, so let the record reflect that I do know there's a difference, even if I can't remember what it is.) That's the sink that occasionally overflows, flooding the garage.

But back to the laundry. What's that? You're wondering where the laundry is? Aside from the large pile of t-shirts on top of the dryer? Well, if you'll turn to your right, you'll see . . .

Here it is. It's not always quite so out of control. I promise! Sometimes (about every other week), Mark decides that it's time to fold up our clothes, and I decide to put Annalyn's clothes back into her closet. And it's all clean and tidy. But normally, here's what you'll find in our laundry area . . .

And that's all the laundry room I can show you today. Because, really, the rest of it looks a whole lot like a garage. We'll save that for another day!

What kind of laundry room do you have? Check out others, along with fun playrooms and bonus rooms, at Kelly's Korner.

Things I Love Thursday: My Laptop

My laptop is enormous. It is second-hand, used. And in case you didn’t catch on when I said it’s enormous, it’s also heavier than a small child.

But I love my computer.

When we got married back in the dark ages, we convinced Mark’s parents to buy us a computer for our wedding gift. After all, I was still in school and Mark was thinking about going back to school, so we needed a computer. Sure, the school of which I speak did have computer labs. But come on, they were all the way on campus! And I was cool enough (read: married, so, not really cool after all) to live a couple miles south of campus. Clearly, we needed our own computer.

And so, we all piled in the car and drove to the Circuit City. I’m pretty sure the desktop we went home with was a pretty decent one. After all, it lasted almost eight years. Eight years that included five moves and one ill-advised upgrade by Mark’s brother.

Two years ago, though, I decided we really needed a new computer. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones of the time or the baby brain ever since, but I cannot for the life of me remember why I decided this. I think it had to do with working from home and childcare options and a few other things directly related to the job that decided to let me go at a most inopportune time.

No matter. What matters is that as we were discussing our options for this purchase, two things happened: Mark remembered that he knows a guy. And I got hit by a car.

First, the guy. Mark has delivered packages and freight to businesses for several years now, and it seems like he always “knows a guy.” Sometimes that guy can sell us cheap tires, sometimes he can fix our plumbing, sometimes he can adopt the puppy that can no longer live in our home. And sometimes, that guy sells gently used corporate computers.

Second, the car accident. One day after work, I stopped at the library to return some books. And as I backed out of my parking space, another car hit mine. Not hard, but it was a little scary. We exchanged info, several weeks of frustrating phone calls ensued, and we ended up with a nice little check.

A check that just happened to cover the cost of a gently used laptop from that guy.

Before we dumped (donated? I can’t remember.) the old computer, our good friend Jeremy was kind enough to retrieve our hard drive and save it to a disk. Or something. All I know for sure is that all my old files are on my new-to-me laptop, along with billions of pictures of the cutest kiddo we know, all my iTunes and a couple videos, and lots of versions of my resume.

What else could a girl want?

My computer has been a lifesaver. When Annalyn came home from the hospital, we were told not to take her outside for six more weeks. Mark was already working evenings at that point, so once he left for work each day, I was stuck. Stuck at home, with this baby that I didn’t know what to do with, all alone. If I hadn’t had my computer as a lifeline, I might have gone a little crazy. Crazier. Whatever.

And since then, my computer has allowed me a creative outlet with this blog, a social network of amazing people I’d never have met without it, a way to watch more TV than any one person needs, and a place to store my precious photos.

I’m really not sure what I’d do without it. And that’s why I’m so glad Mark has agreed that it should go on vacation with us. (I was so afraid to ask, you all. I just knew he’d laugh at me for not being able to leave it at home, but seriously! I need it!!)

For more things that are loved, visit Diaper Diaries. And tell me – do you love your computer? Would you take it along on vacation, or am I nuts? (Wait. Don’t answer that last one…)

Good night. (and good luck?)

As I’ve mentioned a time or twenty, Annalyn is a feisty little girl. She’s got attitude. She’s a character, that one.

Okay, so all her little habits and quirks are probably completely normal toddler behavior. But still, they drive me straight up the wall.

And on Monday night, we had a terrible evening together. There was crying and yelling and more crying. She got upset, too.

After she went to bed, I just felt awful. Had I told her I loved her? Yes. But would she remember? Or would she only remember how we fought over dinner and how I didn’t let her eat pudding or play with my digital camera or pee in the bathtub?

I know it’s just one day, but it was certainly not my finest parenting moment.

Last night, however, was different.

I picked her up at the babysitter’s house, and other than a stealthy escape up the stairs, she was very sweet. (Sometimes she throws a big old hissy fit when I tell her it’s time to go home. It’s heartwarming, really.)

We drove from there to the library and checked out some board books for her (and a novel for me). She loved the first book I handed her and carried it all the way to the car. And she chatted with the librarian who had to renew my library card, telling her that “No,” she doesn’t like to read books and “No,” she’s not a silly girl.

On the way home, she entertained herself in the car, talking to her favorite thing in the whole world these days: her shoes. Apparently, they have a lot to talk about, my daughter and her shoes, despite the fact that they’re rarely separated. (She even sleeps in them sometimes. I know that’s weird – and smelly – but it’s way easier than fighting over it.)

Once we got to the house, she waited for me to “buck-uh” – or, unbuckle her, as we put it in grown-up English. We went inside and read four of her five new library books – even the long one about Jesus.

Then, because I was about to die of hunger (thanks to a half-hearted attempt at healthy eating), I grabbed a slice of cheese from the fridge. Of course, my little shadow wasn’t about to let me eat the whole thing by myself. So we shared some cheese.

As I opened the fridge to get a second slice of cheese, she said, “Milk!” I love that she’s such a good milk drinker – and it’s so smart that she knows it comes from the fridge. I mean, Mark has tried to explain that it actually comes from cows, but that concept may be a little over her head at this point.

I decided, Hey, why not try something new? So I poured her milk into a regular sippy cup. Annalyn is a champ at drinking with a straw, but not so hot at regular sippies. And really, after a couple days of trying way back when she was, ahem, one, I gave up and figured straws are good enough for government work.

But last night, we gave the sippy cup the old college try. And it wasn’t half bad. There was a lot of spilled milk, of course. But we didn’t cry over it. No, in typical OCD style, we mopped it up with a towel. And by that, I mean, we mopped and dabbed and wiped each little drop.

We’re a little crazy like that, my kid and me.

After this sippy cup adventure, I realized it was actually time for dinner. So I fixed Annalyn her favorite “nuggies” – chicken nuggets. And the only vegetable she’ll eat these days – green beans.
That kid – the one who hardly eats anything non-carby these days – ate her whole dinner! She even ate most her pineapple and drank some more milk. (And, P.S., she got a little ticked when I tried to give her the straw cup. Nope, only sippy cups for my girl. Until tomorrow. Because seriously, that was one crazy mess.)

Pudding was, of course, the perfect way to end this peaceful for the most part meal. As we scraped the cup clean, Annalyn got upset because I told her it was all gone. So, as I got her bath ready, I let her go to town with the cup and spoon. I wish I’d taken a picture, because it was hilarious. Instead, I tried to hold her hands down and keep her from touching me on the way to the tub.

What? She was all gross!

Annalyn took a fun bath, playing with her duck (“Cack! Cack!”) and even standing up to get out when it was time.

I dried her off, lotioned her up, put a diaper on the bottom she’s recently discovered (oh, joy) and got her into her jammies. Then I combed her hair, kissed her little face and told her it was time for bed.

“Night-night. Bye-bye.”

Just like that.

Was it luck? My awesome parenting skills? A full moon? Doesn't matter. Perfect nights with my sweet girl work for me, although I have no idea how it happened or when another one will occur. For more stuff that works, head over to We Are THAT Family!

Me, Myself & Lies: Week 1 Recap

We ARE loved! How would our thoughts change if we really believed that?

Week One of Me, Myself & Lies introduced the idea of a thought closet. We compared our thought closet to God’s, considered what it is that we meditate on, and discussed ways to replace those negative thoughts and meditations with ones that are true and God-honoring.

A few points that we pulled from the chapter:

• Our words have influence, but only God’s words have power.
• Who I am and what I struggle with are not the same thing.
• Calling yourself negative names is a sin and hurts God.
• The truth is always gracious and authoritative. Likewise, to be like Christ is to be full of grace and truth.

A few questions that we considered:

• What is something in my thought closet that reminds me of God’s wonders and His word?
• How have you experienced Jesus’ gracious words or His truth and authority?
• What “I am” statement has been in your thought closet the longest? Is it true? Does it belong? Should you keep it?

Another issue we discussed was God’s love. We wondered . . . if we truly understood and accepted how great, how deep, how amazing God’s love for us is, would we still think so negatively about ourselves?

Finally, we decided as a group to commit to memorizing a Bible verse while we’re going through this study. We chose Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

And . . . aha! I found it! I kept thinking that I knew a song based on this Scripture, and I found it. George Rowe sings “Think About That,” and the chorus is mostly this verse. Not a bad song to get stuck in my head . . . or to have as the soundtrack to my thought closet!

One last housekeeping item: If you’d like the answers for each chapter’s listening guide, you can get them on the Lifeway site.

Now, what do you think about this thought closet analogy? What does your closet look like? Do you think it lines up with God’s thoughts for you, or is it way off? (Mine sure is!)

Please, join the discussion in the comments. I can’t wait to hear what you think and what God is showing you through this study.

Because That 70s Show is the best place to get advice.

This weekend, Mark and I had a long heart-to-heart about some decisions we have to make. No, about some decisions that I have to make.

Really, we weren't even debating whether or not I should do something, but rather how much it was going to hurt to do the right thing. And how much more potential hurt doing this right thing would open me up to.

I know I'm being vague, but I think you can help me with my question anyway.

As our conversation was winding down, Mark said that it comes down to the sage wisdom of That 70s Show, where apparently a character shared these words: It's better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all.

I don't know. I mean, sure, in theory that's all well and good. But when it's my heart being pummeled and crushed - over and over and over - then it's a little harder to try again. To put myself out there. To be brave.

So, I'm wondering what you think. Do you think it's best to take risks every time, even though you know you might end up disappointed and hurt? Or is it smarter to play it safe and not let your heart get involved?

Saturday Review: Recent rentals

I’ve rented three movies lately, so for today’s review post, I’m going to go short and sweet. Well, short and honest. That’s better anyway, right?

First, Valkyrie. When I looked up other reviews of this movie, to see what the “real” critics thought about it, I started doubting myself. But then, as I looked deeper (not, keeping it real, not too deep), I realized that I’m not alone in my reaction to this movie.

See, I’m not opposed to historical films. I like learning things. And crazy he might be, but Tom Cruise has been known to make exciting movies while looking, well, not ugly. Okay?

But I left this movie feeling like I did after I watched The Good Shepherd. I was so looking forward to that movie. I mean, it was about the CIA (Yay! Spies!) and it starred Matt Damon (remember the Bourne movies? Yay! Spies!). But danged if that movie wasn’t the most boring thing ever!

Same thing with Valkyrie. It was about a secret plot to assassinate Hitler (Yay! Secret, spying soldiers!) and stars Tom Cruise (Hello, Mission Impossible? You know . . . a little movie series about . . . spies!). But wow . . . this movie was dark and slow and depressing as all get out!

Wait, what was I saying about keeping this brief? Okay, here it is: I didn’t like Valkyrie at all.

Next, we rented New in Town. This city girl goes to small town and falls in love flick stars Renee Zelleweger and Harry Connick, Jr.

*sigh* I do like Harry Connick, Jr. Mainly for his music. But he’s a little bit cute, too. Mark disagrees; he’s holding a grudge based on what must have been an excellent performance in Copycat.

Anyway. The movie.

New in Town is rated PG, and I wondered what kind of chick flick could have the same rating as Shrek. Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a typical romantic comedy – girl meets boy, they bicker, they fall in love, they face insurmountable disaster, everything works out. (Oh . . . sorry . . . did that spoil it for you? I’m going to assume no, because I’m going to assume you’ve seen a chick flick before.)

It’s also a typical Renee Zelleweger movie, where she’s squinty and cutesy and awkward.

But the heavy-handed moral of the story and the supporting characters were very nice. The small-town folk mention being Christians, everyone is friendly (except that pesky big city girl!), and anything PG-13-ish like language or sex is kept to an absolute minimum. It really seemed old-fashioned.

And you know what? I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Was this an excellent film? No. Do I love Renee Zelleweger? No. But is it a cute, fun movie that’s worth a dollar? Yeah, I think so.

Lastly, I rented He’s Just Not That Into You. I don’t know, you guys. Maybe I was in a grumpy mood. But I did not love this movie.

As a married woman, it was depressing and discouraging. As a woman with two single best friends, it was depressing and discouraging.

And then there’s the fact that the movie had about 34 main characters, and I could only make myself like about 2 ½ of them.

There you have it. I don’t have anything else to say about this one. Sorry. I’ve heard that several other people whose opinions I value did enjoy it. But I, for one, am just not that into it.

I’ll try to like the next movie I rent, just for you all. Okay?

This is your blog. This is your blog on writer's block. Any questions?

I once had a friend named Ben. Ben was a funny guy. And Ben had this theory. He believed every lame, boring, unfunny story could be salvaged by ending with one statement.

“And then I found five dollars.”

Sometimes, that is totally true. Think about it. You’ll be telling a story, and perhaps it seemed important or interesting when you started but now you’re about 40 percent through and you’ve realized that it’s not that great and you can’t even remember what the point of the story was supposed to be and everyone’s looking at you with those blank stares except for that one guy who just peeked at his watch as if he’s got somewhere more important to be but no, really, this is a good story, I swear, if only you could remember what came next and now you’re starting to sweat so you say:

“And then I found five dollars.”

Oh, look at their faces now. So interested. Satisfied. Entertained. Impressed, even.

You should try it sometime.

This completely lame-o blog post is courtesy of a prompt found on Plinky.com, a site chock full of quirky questions and whose tagline is, “Because sometimes you need a push.”

Yes, despite the two-inch-thick folder of blog ideas I currently have in my planner and the list of post topics specifically lined up for June, when I stared at the computer just now, I came up empty. I got nothin’. And so, a little visit to our friend Plinky was in order.

And I kid you not, this was the first (okay, the fourth, but the rest of this is all true) question I saw: “What would you be excited to find on the ground right now?”

Clearly, I’d like to find five dollars on the ground right now. Because that’s the only thing saving this post now.

Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you head over to Plinky and pick a question, any question. Come back here and then answer it in the comments. It’ll be fun! Yeah!

(Side note: I suggest including the question with your comment, but I suppose if you wanted to really throw us for a loop you could leave it out. It’s up to you.)

Oooh, look! I think that’s a five dollar bill over there . . .

Here comes the sun (do-do-doo-do)…

On Sunday, it was scorching hot around here. (Sorry to my Southern friends. By “scorching,” I mean mid-90s. But that’s hot for June in Missouri!) But on Monday, relief arrived in the form of 72 degrees and a mild breeze.

Yesterday’s air held about 110 percent humidity; the day was gray and oppressive. By Saturday, we’ll be back to sunshine and perfect temps.

The thing about bad weather, the thing that I try to remember, is that without it, we wouldn’t really appreciate the good weather. If we didn’t have to suffer through heavy humidity or brutal cold or pouring rain, we wouldn’t know just how good we have it on the days when the sun shines, the breeze blows and the temperature is just right.

Yeah, yeah, I hear you: Are you seriously talking about the weather? For a whole blog post?

Nope, just working my way up to a good, old-fashioned analogy.

I’ve seen several conversations around the blogosphere lately about which stages of childhood are the hardest, the most difficult, the most irritating, the most exhausting. Is it colicky crying infancy? Is it the terrible twos or the torturous threes? What about 6-year-old girls or 11-year-old boys?

My parenting resume is only 20 months long, so I realize I’m nowhere near an expert. So, please, please know that my thoughts are based only on my limited experience.

But it seems to me that if it wasn’t for the difficult stages of childhood, we wouldn’t appreciate the good times nearly as much.

A couple months ago, Annalyn learned how to be naughty overnight. Like a switch was flipped or something. She learned to say NO, she realized the power she holds over us with this thing called free will, she decided that all the things off limits (the stereo, the stove, the computer) were the most interesting things in the house.

She became . . . a toddler.

She also gave up eating good meals – stopped eating pretty much all veggies (which she previously loved and ate by the cup), started craving crackers (which encompasses anything crunchy and carby).

And did I mention the sleeping issues? The waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes to play, sometimes to scream, sometimes to eat (because, oh yeah, she only wanted crackers the day before)? Yes, there were sleeping issues.

And I can’t forget to mention that my darling, brilliant daughter is Still. Not. Walking. And while it’s not her fault that I’m now dealing with doctors and specialists and programs and therapists and red tape and phone tag, well, it just ices the New Toddler Cake.

It’s been a rough few weeks.

But on Sunday, we caught a glimpse of the sun. After feeding Annalyn three Oreos (double stuffed, of course) for breakfast, we had the sweetest, cutest, most fun day ever.

I’m sure it had nothing to do with the cookies. Nuthin’ at all. (Please, don't everyone rush out to nominate me for Mother of the Year.)

So, we survived another difficult phase, and now the sweet moments seem just that much sweeter.

Things like this:

Or this, when she actually DID eat a good dinner:

And sometimes, even the ornery looks cute:

Now, don’t get me wrong. I fully anticipate that I’ll be howling again in a week, in a month, in a day – whenever the next difficult stage arrives. But until then, I’m treasuring these good times.

You might even say that life is so bright, she's gotta wear shades . . .

What's your favorite stage of childhood? When are they the cutest, the most fun, the best ever?

Almost Wordless Works for Me Wednesday

HonorMommy tagged me quite a while ago to pick a pic at (somewhat) random to share. So, in an attempt to be a little less wordy than normal, here's the seventh photo from my seventh folder on my laptop:

You can see that Annalyn is grinning, but what you can't see is that she's grinning at her dad, standing outside the window. Here are a few more I like from that "photo shoot":

P.S. Taking pictures near our back windows in natural light works for me!

Me, Myself & Lies: Intro

My closet is occasionally organized and neat.
But somehow, my clothes end up all over the place . . . not so organized.
What does your closet look like?

Wow. What a great first meeting we had last night! Debbie, Hip Mama and Chelleybutton joined me to discuss self talk, negative thoughts and giving ourselves a thought closet makeover.

I’ll include the highlights of our discussion here; please add to what we have in the comments!

[And please remember: ANYONE is welcome to join this study and this conversation at ANY TIME. Come one, come all!]

Think about your closet. Is it perfectly organized, with matching hangers? Are all your long-sleeved shirts hanging together, right above all your shoes lined up in neat rows? Or do you have piles of clothes strewn about, with a pile of boots and flip flops fighting with belts, purses and random boxes?

Jennifer Rothschild, author of Me, Myself & Lies, draws a beautiful analogy between our clothes closet and our minds. She says that everything we’ve ever said to ourselves over the years makes up our thought closets. And those thoughts are now wardrobing – or covering – our lives.

Whew. I’m not sure which is heavier. The fact that I actually said “strewn about” with a straight face, or the fact that the junk I say to myself is coloring how I live. Right – what do you think?

Jennifer points out that if we heard someone else talking to another person the way we talk to ourselves, we’d be upset! But she also acknowledges that these negative thoughts have become a habit. They’ve become normal.

Or, as she puts it: “Normal. Like cancer.”

Do you have this problem? Do you find yourself calling yourself names? I do.

I call myself stupid. Fat. Lazy. Sometimes all at once! And I’m ready for what Jennifer calls a thought closet makeover.

Debbie, Hip Mama and Chelleybutton pointed out that we’ve got to start replacing these negative thoughts – whatever yours look and sound like – with positive ones. With God’s word. With His truth.

The scary thing is that each person has a constant inner dialogue containing anywhere from 150-300 words each minute! And as Jennifer points out, if you don’t control your thoughts, your thoughts will control you. She says that the only way to gain a little control over your thoughts is to monitor what you tell yourself.

All of this made me think of Philippians 4:8 – “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

And Debbie reminded us of 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Jennifer describes our thought closet as being organized into six different shelves or bins. Strangely enough, they spell the word “closet.”

C = cares and concerns. Our worries, the what-ifs.
L = likes and dislikes. Our personality and preferences.
O = objectives and goals. Our dreams, plans, to-do lists, etc.
S = secrets. The things we don’t let anyone see.
E = eternity. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3, God has placed eternity in our hearts.
T = treasures. The people, memories and priorities that are most precious to us.

Which of these areas needs the most help in your closet?

I’m not sure where all my issues fit yet, but I’m looking forward to figuring out how to turn the lies I’ve believed and told into redeeming truth. Because as Jennifer reminds us, every wrong word and every life that is spoken can be redeemed by God!

This week, we’ll do the daily study in the member book. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, I suggest calling the Lifeway store nearest you and picking one up soon. We’ll discuss this first chapter next week.

An accompanying video is available on the Lifeway website, and that’s where I’ve pulled a lot of Jennifer’s insight from for last night’s discussion and today’s post. However, each video costs $5, so you absolutely don’t have to download them. The listening guides in the book have answers that you can get from the videos . . . or online. And I just know we’ll have plenty to talk about from the homework.

I am looking forward to diving into this study, getting to know some phenomenal women better and learning what truths God has to speak to my heart. Join us each Monday night at 8 pm CST for a live chat or each Tuesday for a recap post and comments.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
(Psalm 19:14)

Me, Myself & Lies: an online Bible study

We'll start our Bible study tonight. Do you have your book? If not, you've still actually got a week to track one down.

Thanks to the popularity of Jennifer Rothschild's Me, Myself & Lies, it is listed as out of stock on the Lifeway website. This may or may not have a little something to do with another blog studying it this summer.

If you are having trouble finding a book online, check your local stores. Especially the Lifeway stores. The Lifeway store near me had several; I believe you can order and pay over the phone and have it shipped to you. The number to my store is 816-746-8080. Or, call Lifeway customer service for help: 1-800-458-2772.

Here's how this study is going to work:

Each Monday night, I'll put a live chat box on my blog. The chat will be open from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. (And that's Central Standard Time.) If we need to go longer, we can, but our goal is to keep this to no more than 90 minutes.

Each Tuesday morning, I'll post a recap of our discussion and open the comments to any further discussion.

Tonight, we'll introduce ourselves and briefly discuss the introductory session. The next week we'll dive into the actual study. Each week has five days of individual study, and we'll discuss what we learned and the book's session answers on the following Monday. So, to break it down:

June 8: Introductory session
June 15: Discuss Week One
June 22: Discuss Week Two
June 29: Summer break (sorry! I'll be on vacation!)
July 6: Discuss Week Three
July 13: Discuss Week Four
July 20: Discuss Week Five
July 27: Discuss Week Six

I'm so excited to study this book with you all! If you have questions today, just e-mail me (see Contact above).

The essential ingredients

I finally got around to fixing my cheesy chicken last night. I took some pictures, but here's the thing: they didn't look good. So, I'm just going to suggest you fix the dish and judge for yourself.

One thing I noticed, though, was that my ingredient shot looked awfully familiar:

It turns out, I use cheese, cream-based soup and/or onion in almost all of my favorite recipes.

What ingredients do you use a lot of? Do you have certain "staples" or "go-to" foods that you always keep on hand?

Saturday Review: Summer Movie Previews

Mark and I have had the opportunity recently to see two movies in the theater. Oh, actually, Mark saw a third movie with my dad. Of course I want to give you a full review of the second movie we saw, but for today, I want to talk about my favorite part of the movie-going experience.

No, not the popcorn. I’m talking about previews. I’m using the summaries from IMDB, but don’t worry. It wouldn’t be a movie post without my valuable (ha!) opinion.

My Sister’s Keeper (June 26) Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents (Cameron Diaz and some guy) who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive.

I think the preview said the sick daughter has kidney disease not leukemia. But whatever. Both times I saw this preview, I turned to Mark and said, “Absolutely not.” And then I glared at the screen until it was over.

Because seriously? I’m pretty sure this one will make me cry. For days.

However, I hear from many (including my sister-in-law) that the book is great and the movie surely will be, too.

Public Enemies (July 1) The Feds (including a very angry Christian Bale) try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

We’ve seen this preview twice, too. And both times, Mark turned to me wide-eyed and said, “Awwwww, yeah!” The first time, I wanted to clarify exactly why he was interested in this historical bang-bang-shoot-em-up flick. (Right – it’s a mystery!) I said to him, “Because you’re so excited to see hot Johnny Depp without the freaky makeup?”

Turns out that wasn’t what he’d been thinking. But my history- and action-loving husband is definitely going to see this. As it’s rated R – which surely means it will have more violence than I really prefer – I’m not sure I’ll go with him.

The Ugly Truth (July 24) A romantically challenged morning show producer (Katherine Heigl) is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent (Gerard Butler) to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result.

And hijinks ensue, of course. I know, I know – this will be the typical rom-com, the usual chick flick, a piece of silly fluff. But you know what else? I like that.

Besides, somebody has to support Smitty in her undying love of all things Gerard.

Funny People (July 31) When seasoned comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler) learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a relatively green performer (Seth Rogen) under his wing as his opening act.

For me, Adam Sandler is either on or off; there’s no middle ground. I can’t tell you how often we quote Happy Gilmore or how many times I’ve watched The Wedding Singer or 50 First Dates. But Little Nicky? Anger Management? Uh, no thanks.

But his “grown-up” movies – Click, Spanglish – have been pretty good. More serious than you’d expect and not exactly uplifting, but good. And I have a feeling this one will fall into this category.

Then again, we laughed a lot during the preview, so it might be pretty funny, too. I hope it’s both – good and funny.

Julie & Julia (August 7) Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and Julie Powell (Amy Adams) are featured in writer-director Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell's Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends...until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

Mark saw this preview first and tried to explain it to me. Needless to say, I didn’t quite get it. But then, when we saw the second movie together, this preview played again. And I. Must. See. It.

Meryl Streep is fabulous, always. And Amy Adams has really grown on me in the last couple years – I really like her. And she plays a woman in a job she hates who decides to find some meaning in her life through blogging. Hello?

I can’t wait for this one.

Post Grad (August 21) Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) graduates from college and is forced to move back into her childhood home with her eccentric family, while she attempts to find a job, the right guy, and just a hint of where her life is headed.

Oh, look, it’s Rory! And she’s graduated from college and can’t find a job! And she doesn’t know what to do with her life! And there are cute boys!

Seriously. I will see this. It will probably not change my life. But I know I will love it anyway.

What summer movies are you looking forward to?

Family Recipe Fridays: Cheesy Chicken

I would really like to have a photo for you. But as I’m sure you know, sometimes things just don’t work out like you want. After all, I also really wanted to post this recipe the last two weeks.

I was waiting for a photo. Hmm. Okay, then.

When Smitty, my maid of honor, planned a wedding shower for me, we decided that our moms should be invited to the party. I’m not sure what prompted this, but the result was my mom, Mark’s mom and Sandi’s mom joining my girlfriends from high school at a sweet reception in the church fellowship hall.

Without looking it up, I don’t remember any specific gifts I received that afternoon. Except one. Well, two, actually.

Mark’s mom gave me a flannel nightgown and a cookbook.

See, Marilyn was cold-blooded. Not in the heartless sense, but in the it’s July but I still need a sweater in the shade sense. And so her gift of a flannel nightgown was a kind gesture, meant only to help me deal with my upcoming life with a hot-blooded man.

I suppose you can take that however you want.

I never wore that long-sleeved flannel nightgown. But the cookbook? Oh, it’s a treasure. It was a compilation of recipes from Marilyn and her friends at church. At the time, it wasn’t very interesting, but I have come to really love that book. While it’s been so comforting to have some of Marilyn’s recipes (she died in 2001), our favorite dish is actually one that someone else shared in the cookbook.

So, now that I think about it, this isn’t even a family recipe. Well, whatever. It’s our family’s recipe. And I’m sure I’ll pass it on to someone.

Cheesy Chicken

• 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups cheddar
• Some chopped onion (no, I don’t know how much)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• Splash of milk (yep, I said a “splash”)
• Black pepper
• Rice (I use two bags of boil-in-bag rice)

Bake the chicken for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (or until cooked through). Drain water and any fat. Mix cheddar, onion, soup and milk. Season with pepper. Spoon mixture over chicken. Bake for another 15 minutes (or until cheese is melted). Serve over rice.

I used to serve it with Lipton’s mushroom rice, but that makes it awfully salty. Sometimes I cut the chicken breasts in half, to make smaller serving sizes. But really, no matter how you change it up, Cheesy Chicken is mighty good.

For more (actual) Family Recipes, head over to the Vanderbilt Wife. And for some mouthwatering recipes, check out A Southern Fairytale.

Do you have a favorite family recipe? How do you feel about flannel?