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?