Am I Seeing Double?

Since I wrote about a "soundalike," I just can't resist talking a bit about lookalike celebrities. I love playing this game, you see, and my best friend (who indulges me and puts up with me saying, "See, see - they really do look alike!") is out of town all summer. So, I need an outlet! I'll just do a couple. Well, three. But that's all, I promise.

Most Obscure Lookalike: Actress Michelle Monaghan ("Made of Honor") and Dancer Courtney Galiano ("So You Think You Can Dance")












They don't really look alike, alike, but they really remind me of each other: Actor Seth Green ("Austin Powers") and Actor Josh Gomez ("Chuck")













And finally (for now), the one that fooled me good: Actress (and activist) Alicia Silverstone ("Clueless") and Actress Maggie Lawson ("Psych"). I watched an entire movie one Saturday starring Maggie Lawson, and I swore it was Alicia Silverstone. My husband looked at the TV for a minute and said, "Hey, she looks like Alicia Silverstone, but her mouth is different." And I said, of course, "Duh! It is Alicia Silverstone."

Yeah. It wasn't.

Haven't I Heard That Somewhere?

Do you ever notice soundalike songs or musicians? I wouldn’t say this happens to me all that often, but recently, I’ve been struck by a soundalike playing on my radio. The pop stations (and a commercial – I think for Sirius radio) are playing a song by Sara Bareilles called, “Love Song.” I really like it – it’s catchy, and I like acoustic music and the singer/songwriter vibe. Plus, I'm a sucker for the piano.

A few days ago I heard a song on the contemporary Christian station called, “I’m Letting Go” by Francesca Battistelli. First of all, I just like the song. The words are meaningful to me. But second of all, Wow! It sounds soooo much like “Love Song!”

Or maybe it’s just me. Take a listen. Let me know what you think.

Sara Bareilles – listen here.
Francesca Battistelli – listen here.

Another soundalike for you country music fans (are you out there? anyone? Bueller?): Rodney Carrington sounds just like Tim McGraw to me. Just like him! When I hear a new song by Rodney, I always, always think it’s Tim!

Have you heard any soundalikes lately?

I don't know what kind of girl I am.

Yes, it's another quote from Juno. I like the movie, okay? For some reason, it just moved me. I mean, yes, of course, it's really funny. And fo-shizzle, it has groovy music. (Just kidding - I don't talk like that.) But parts of it - and the whole theme - were moving.

Anyway, this part of the movie is very brief. It happens right after Juno has told her parents that she's pregnant. Her dad, understandably disappointed, says he thought she was the kind of girl who "knew when to say when."

And that's when Juno says it: "I don't know what kind of girl I am."

When I saw that the first time, I just kind of sat back in my seat and thought, "Huh." (Eloquent, right?) Seriously, though, it hit me that what she was saying wasn't just another witty or flippant statement. At least to me, it was more. It summed up a lot of "stuff" I've been thinking and feeling lately.

See, I've been struggling for a few months. Well, really for several months. It's been the culmination of my 10-year high school reunion, being laid off from my job that I didn't even like that much, having my first baby, taking another job that I don't really love, and now facing my 30th birthday.

But I haven't figured out how to say any of this. Maybe it's because (and I've been waiting for the right time to use this great quote!), like Stephen King said, "The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them."

However, I still have this crazy urge to share with you (or, I should say, anyone who will listen or read) what I'm thinking and feeling. So, here goes.

I'm not who I think I should be. I'm not where I want to be. But to be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure who I am OR who I want to be. And of course, if I don't know those things, I clearly don't know where I want to be or what I am supposed to be either. What I do know is that God made me who I am, whoever that is. And I'm 100% sure He made me to do something BIG. I just have no idea what my "BIG thing" is!

So there it is. My big crisis. Dilemma. Question. Situation. Whatever it is.

If you're wondering why I decided to tell you about it tonight - and even if you're not - it's because I heard a new song. It's by a Christian artist, Kelly Pease. I'm sure she's new, because I can't find much info about her. I'm going to post the lyrics here, but I might have a few wrong. Because I couldn't find the lyrics online...so I listened to her song on MySpace over and over until I could catch all the words. Anyway, here it is:

Original
by Kelly Pease

So long I’ve been trying to please so many people,
Most of whom don’t even know my name.
Somehow if I could only be what they are buying or selling…
In my trying I found out just who I am.

I am an original.
I am fitfully, wonderfully made.
I am an original.
I discovered the name that the artist has placed on my heart,
And that makes me an original work of art.

Somewhere along the way I bought into some crazy notion
That I could be to everybody all things.
So long I’ve been beating my head against the wall…
Through my trying I was crying, “Show me who I am.”

I am an original.
I am fitfully, wonderfully made.
I am an original.
I discovered the name that the artist has placed on my heart,
And that makes me an original work of art.

My face, my smile, I’m just your child. That’s all I am.
I don’t have to be anything but what you have made in me.
I don’t have to look, think, talk, sound, walk like anyone else.
I’m an original work of art.
I don’t have to look, think, talk, sound, walk like anyone else.
I’m an original work of art.

More on all that later. But for now, I'll leave you with one last quote that I think fits in with all this jumbled stuff rattling around in my brain (from the wisdom of Ugly Betty): "Maybe you should stop worrying about what you're supposed to be...and just be."

Pregnancy...it can often lead to an infant. *

Well, I haven't heard the details yet, but congratulations to Triple and Mad Dog on their new baby! I can't wait to meet her!

On that note, I've been thinking that I'm not really living up to my screen name. I've been going by "photoqueen," but I haven't been sharing my photos with you. So, here are a few pics of my infant. (Officially eight months old on Sunday! Where, oh where, did the time go?)

Don't worry - I won't turn this into a baby picture blog! (I do have other, non-baby photos to share with you!) But inspiration hasn't struck for other deep topics that I'm pondering, so photos it is.

* Quote from Juno, one of the best movies I've seen recently.

My New Favorite Blog

I've been reading blogs for a while. Then, when Chelley started her own site, I began reading other people's blogs a little more, especially her friends'. And then I discovered Michael Hyatt's blog. Mr. Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, and I found his site when researching his company. From there, I have found so. many. new. blogs!

The best one so far is by Cool Dad and Cool Mum, a couple of new Christian parents who are veddy, veddy funny! To sum it up, the sidebar says, "This blog is for current or future parents, and anyone who loves Jesus, humor, or geeky behavior." Fun, right? Check it out.

Could I Have the Language of Origin, Please?

That's right - it's the big night. The night of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I actually rushed home to watch it. Yeah, I did. You might think it's boring, but it's actually quite exciting. I mean, there's a struggle between right and wrong, there's suspense and tension, and we've even seen laughter and cheering. (I'm sure the tears will come later.) And get this - the Barbie doll host just said that one contestant's brother promised to douse her with water if she wins. Yes, folks, douse her with....water.

You know, the kids in big spelling bees often get made fun of, but I think the adults involved are the odd ones. The moderator is so serious, so stern. He acts as if the contestants are putting him out by asking for a definition. And heaven forbid they ask a question twice in an effort to stall for time! (Although, he did have to chuckle when a contest asked for the origin of "oxylophytic," and he had to say, "A Greek part connected to something that's probably another Greek part." Very helpful.)

I already mentioned Barbie doll host - she's interviewing the contestants between rounds, similar to Dancing with the Stars' format. This isn't surprising, considering this year's bee is on ABC (I think it's normally only on ESPN), and the main host is none other than Tom Bergeron. Oh no, he actually just said that the tension is mounting. He's a funny man. It must be interesting to go from home videos and dancing "stars" to providing color commentary for these crazy smart kids. But, thanks to his presence, these kids know they're just as important and cool as Kristi Yamaguchi and Joey Lawrence. (Whoa!)

I do like the way they've produced this contest. The rock music playing in the background as we head to commercial, the play by play from our friend, Tom, the highlights replayed as we come back from commercial. They've made it pretty slick and professional, like they're really taking this spelling bee - and the kids in it - seriously. I think that's nice.

But I won't lie. I prefer watching my national spelling bee with the Sklar brothers on Cheap Seats. For those of you who missed this late, great show, here's a taste.

Seriously, though, I wish I could have done more spelling bees as a kid. Our county didn't hold the county spelling bee early enough for winners to qualify for the state bee. And I didn't even know how kids got to the national spelling bee when I was younger. Honestly, I didn't know until tonight when I looked it up. (If only I'd known about the $30,000 prize back then! Now that's an incentive to learn those qualifying rules and study etymology!)

All this spelling talk has me in the mood for a little competition. I'm off to the national site to take the test that will tell me if I could have qualified for the quarterfinals. Here I go...wish me luck...here's hoping they don't give me "numnah" (a word from tonight that sounded like, umm, something else...imagine if that ended with a "t")!

Bonus List of the Week: Words I Missed at Bees:

• percale (As my mom said afterward, "You know, as in 'percale sheets?!' Riiiiight. Because I knew what percale sheets were in the fourth grade.)
• zucchini (I actually had to double-check it tonight before posting!)
• ulterior (I thought the moderator said "alterior," which is not a word, but in the sixth grade, I just assumed it was a word I'd never heard of. If only I'd known to ask, "Am I pronouncing this right?" like the kids are doing tonight.)
• incompetent (Funny, right? Uh-huh, hi-larious.)

(If you're lucky, I'll scan and post a picture of me with my spelling bee trophies for your viewing pleasure.)

List of the Week, v3

Movies I've Seen in the Last Couple of Weeks

• Enchanted
• 27 Dresses
• Dan in Real Life
• Made of Honor
• The Great Debaters

So, for those of you who are counting, that's two movies with Patrick Dempsey...and two movies with James Marsden. Four chick flicks and one serious-type movie. One in the theater and four rentals. One half cartoon. one Harpo production, and one Disney movie. Three movies with actors from Grey's Anatomy, and one movie with an actor from The Office. Two movies about weddings, and five movies with happily-ever-after endings.

Some random thoughts on these movies:

• I think I would have liked Enchanted more if Photobaby were old enough to appreciate it.
• No matter how cute the song, cockroaches are always disgusting.
• I can't deny it - a couple of the dresses weren't that bad.
• James Marsden is not cute. Not at all.
• I was really hoping Made of Honor would avoid a cliched ending.
• I was really hoping The Great Debaters would not.
• Dan in Real Life was good.
• I started to say that I like the movies Steve Carell makes, thinking of Little Miss Sunshine. Then I remembered 40 Year Old Virgin.

Don't worry - I realize none of these movies have a lot of redeeming factors, and in fact, most of them have pretty crazy morals and themes. But for the most part (The Great Debaters aside), they were fun. Not award-winning. No. But fun.

Do Bad Things Really Come in Threes?

For a long time now, I've believed the superstition that things come in threes. Mainly bad things. Sometimes deaths, specifically, but often just bad things in general. I know it's silly, and the thing is, I'm not a superstitious person. After all, I believe that God is in control, and He has a plan - and those beliefs don't really leave a lot of room for superstitions and things such as fate and luck. But it really does seem as if three bad things occur close together.

This happened to me yesterday, as a matter of fact. In one afternoon, I got three e-mails with bad news. First, I learned that a former co-worker is being deployed to Iraq. Second, I found out that a friend has called off her August wedding. And third, I got an e-mail from a pregnant friend who is having complications and had to go to the hospital. All this within just a few hours!

Those three pieces of news coming so close together really made me think about this belief. Where does it come from anyway? Most superstitions or common phrases have an interesting origin or background, so I decided to find out about this one. Who originally decided that bad things come in threes?

After about an hour of searching, I'm sorry to say, I still don't know. Wikipedia let me down. Google couldn't help. Even About.com couldn't tell me much about it. I did find a long (looooooong!) list of different uses for and definitions of three and a very (verrrrrrry) vague explanation of the superstition.

What I did find was an article published in 1984 saying that no, kids, bad things don't come in threes. It's just your perspective. (Side note: This article contains a lot of the same positive thinking philosophies that have been written about in certain Oprah-promoted books. But this author makes a point to note that "[e]xpectations don't always turn into reality.")

Anyway, it's true. Looking for threes makes it a lot more likely that we'll notice thing in groups of three. I know that. So, while I didn't find out where this belief started, I did get a good reminder from this article: "Things happen one at a time. Whether they are seen as the worst or the best is determined by you alone."

This little research project has confirmed that there's really no point believing - or expecting - bad things come in threes. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to think about how many times good things come three at a time.

Because of course, there are some real and good significances to the number three. The trinity, for one. A solid marriage, for another. And don't forget some other "important" threes: nursery rhymes, trilogies, famous characters and silly movies.

List of the Week, v2

What do you want to be when you grow up?

(Who am I - Brenda Starr or Dale Messick ?)

Today I'm neither girl reporter nor famous artist. But I've wanted to be both. See, I've wanted to be a lot of things. I actually spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be, supposed to do. I think there's something BIG out there with my name on it. But I don't know what it is. Or how to figure it out. Someday (when I grow up), I might figure out which one of my ideas is right for me. Someday I'll figure out what exactly God made me to do. Until then, I'll just keep adding to my list...

• Teacher (What teacher's pet doesn't want to be a teacher? Of course, I'm still a bit jealous of those summers off!)
• Lawyer (I have to admit, this one still comes and goes occasionally.)
• Cartoon artist (I went through this phase in middle school. I thought I was the next big cartoonist. It may have had something to do with the TV show, "Caroline in the City.")
• Animal rights activist (My seventh grade civics teacher showed us a video about cock fighting. I was appalled and briefly determined to do something about it.)
• Novelist
• Journalist (I went to college with this idea. I was very close to going to a large university specifically for this major, but ended up going to a smaller school. Good thing, since I changed my major after first semester when I learned that being a reporter isn't exactly like being Brenda Starr or Lois Lane!)
• Rock star (Right, like you don't have this dream!)
• Music teacher
• Photographer
• Psychologist (This was my next bright idea in college - spent a couple semesters thinking I would be a counselor. Not a bad idea, but it wasn't the right one, either.)
• Small business owner/entrepreneur
• Event planner (This is where my career began. It was a good place, but not the ultimate place for me.)
• Fundraiser
• College professor (Turns out it only took two hostile golfers in my Speech 101 class to change my mind about changing young lives this way.)
• PR specialist (Okay, so nobody really dreams of being a "specialist," but it's my title for now.)
• Book editor
• Book publicist
• Party planner, photographer and scrapbooker (surely there's a market for this?!)
• Writer (Some days, I really think I have a book in me. What kind of book, you ask? I don't know yet...but I'll let you know when I do!)

I've thought for more than a year (way more than that if you go back to when I originally thought of it in college) that I should be a Christian book editor. It's possible that this is "it," what I've been looking for. What I'm made to do. For the record, I don't know how to get into this career, since I'm fairly entrenched in another career path. But I do know that if this is God's plan for me, we'll figure it out somehow!

What kind of job dreams do YOU have? What will YOU be when you grow up?

List of the Week, v1

I've decided that I need a list of the week. However, I should caution you at this point not to set your watches by my lists. I have in the past - twice, actually - attempted to send a "Tip of the Week" to my co-workers, and both times it ended up being more like a "Tip of the Every Once in a While When the Mood Strikes Me."

That being said, this week's list is ever-growing and ever-evolving...and begins with Everwood. Without further ado (I am big on ado, aren't I?), here it is:

TV Shows I Plan to Watch on DVD

(a.k.a., shows I missed the first time around or don't have time to watch now)

• Everwood
• West Wing
• Friday Night Lights
• Brothers & Sisters
• Wonderfalls
• Veronica Mars, season one
• So You Think You Can Dance, season one
  (Do they put reality shows on DVD?)
• Arrested Development

Now, in order to watch these shows, I will have to actually purchase the DVDs (not likely, as I only own two TV shows on DVD - The Office, season one, which was a gift; and Home Improvement, which was free and I took it for my husband) or break down and get a membership to Netflix, which I've been avoiding especially since discovering Redbox.

You know, now that I think about it, this is a pretty lofty goal. Because it's not like watching these shows in their entirety will be a short thing. No, it's going to take time. And dedication. I probably better put it on my summer projects list. (Yes, the same place my "read some classics" goal has been for years...)

So - what about you all? What's on your list?