If My Life Today Were a Movie...

There appears to be some technical difficulty with my blog. Backgrounds and graphics on recent activity are not showing up. Whether it's me (and it probably is) or blogger or just the alignment of the planets, I'm not in the mood to fix it.

If my life today were a movie, it would be an adaption of a Stephen King horror novel. When things start to go wrong, the domino effect comes into play, with one thing after the other falling down.

But enough feeling bad and onto some real movie mania. I've had a copy of Chicago for quite some time, but never took the time to watch it, so the other night, I popped it in the player. It was...different. Entertaining, with good music and some amazing footwork by Richard Gere. I wouldn't list it among my favorite musicals, nor do I plan to watch it again soon, but I won't NOT watch it sometime in the far future.

The opening song, All That Jazz, was wonderful and really set the scene for what was to come. Catherine Zeta-Jones did the number to perfection and was a joy to watch and hear. Although Renee Zellweger isn't among my favorite actresses, she did a superb job in this movie. A little more weight would have made her more attractive, which I find odd in saying about her. Again, Gere did some great hoofing.

It's worth a watch, and I especially liked the song, Cell Block Tango. It was a hoot! All in all, it's worth one watch, if you tend to like musicals, but I'm still trying to figure out how it won so many Academy Awards.

Bear with me on the blog formatting. A weekend of working on it may do the trick...nor not.

Friends: The Real Gold

My friend Gail sent me a link to the following, and in many ways it defines our friendship.

1. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made
you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever
is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting
something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of
here.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible
stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big
baby!!!!

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are
well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off.

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you
may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Gail and I have been friends since we were 12. It person years, we've been friends for over 45 years. And not just friends, but "best friends".

The way we met was a little strange. When I was in seventh grade, my family moved to a small town where my mother's family was from. I knew a few people. I have TONS of cousins, and I ended up going to school with many of them for six years, so I wasn't a complete "new kid" in school. Before we moved, a friend from grade school visited the town with me one weekend. She knew Gail from Campfire Girls, and we stopped by Gail's house so Pam could say hi. It wasn't long that the final made the move was made and, because we'd met each other earlier, Gail and I became friends.

Forty-five years is a long time. We know each other well. Sometimes, too well. :) We've shared giggles and tears and everything in between, making more memories than can fit in my head. Her youngest son is the same age as my next-to-oldest daughter and were in the same class in school. There was a time when we weren't in contact much with each other, when we both had young children and spent most of our time raising them, but when we did talk on the phone, it was as if only a day or two had passed by, instead of several months.

We're not alike. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses, our own dreams and fears. But we're always there for each other, no matter what. I suspect we always will be. It's too late to change friends now. :)

I've included the only photo I can find of the two of us together. How very strange, after all this time. The picture was taken almost 15 years ago at our 25-year Class Reunion, when we still had some youth left in us. I'll be sharing some stories here on our past and present. I'd love to hear about your friends too!

Mood Music

I've been downloading a lot of music lately. Yes, legally downloading, as I feel artists should be paid for their work. Oh, all right, I've bought books at used bookstores, even recently, but I don't make a habit of it. To be honest, I've been getting my music free. Yes, legally free. I use Pepsi points, and for 5 points a song, I can get downloads from Amazon. I can even get a DVD movie for 90 points! I haven't done that yet, I'm still gathering music.

Coming to the point where I thought I'd gotten most of the music I wanted and that was available (not everything out there is available for downloading), I haven't gotten any new songs lately. But late last night (make that very early this a.m.), I needed to know one small phrase from a movie/Broadway song. I found it, grabbed the song, and realized just how much I've always liked it. It's the theme song from Camelot, sung by Richard Harris.

And then I went craaaaazy listening to Broadway tunes. Old ones, new ones, some I remember singing in glee club in high school. (That would be "chorus" now, I think.) Songs that made me smile, like "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair". Songs that made me cry, such as "Climb Every Mountain". So many songs that I had to make a list, but "Camelot" was the only one I downloaded.

Listening to music when I write has become a habit. I have a long list in my player for just that, and another for when I go walking, although I haven't done that. Fun, bouncing tunes, some that I used to dance to back in the Stone Age. Music can lift my soul or quiet it.

There's one other way I listen to music. Pandora is online and free, and a program that lets you choose the type of music you like to hear and make "stations" of your favorites. I've recommended it to several people and haven't found anyone yet who doesn't like it. Check it out. It's worth it! Pandora.

Monday, Monday

The start to another week, which is okay. It means we're that much closer to the start of school in mid-August. I seems some school systems are shortening the summer, little by little, maybe leaning more toward year-round school? I'm not sure I'd mind that. A week or two break for some R&R doesn't sound so bad.

Summer vacation is more than half-way over, and school supplies are beginning to appear in stores. Can it really be that back-to-school is not far off?

It's obvious things have changed since I was in school. For instance, I was 50 when I had my first ride in a limo. My youngest granddaughter was 5. Her pre-K class held two fundraisers this year, and she was the biggest seller for both. Prizes were given to everyone, and for the first, she picked a nice "boom box". At 5, mind you. But it was the second one that blew some of us away. The highest sellers--8 of them--took a ride in a white limo to McDonalds. Now that's what I call class!

Allie's first limo ride!

2008

Well, yes, of course I was there to take pictures!!

What a wonderful memory for a little girl.

I wonder if I should try going back to school? After all, if rides in limos to McDonalds are the going thing...

Natural Born Charmer

Once upon a time, I read several books a week. Now, I'm lucky to read one book in a few months. One of my favorite authors is Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and except for her two or three earliest books, I've read them all, at least once.

SEP books are an incentive for me to get things done. No matter what it is, her newest book always becomes a reward for finishing something, making the reading of them even more special.

I was introduced to SEP by my best friend of over forty years, who has always been a voracious reader, and although our reading tastes don't always match (she doesn't read category), they often do, and we share our favorites. I still remember the phone call when she read the opening of Kiss An Angel to me, describing the hero as the Marlboro Man. It was a great book and a very different story, and I've always felt it's one of the darker of SEP's. The next introduction my friend gave me was the opening of my all-time favorite SEP book, It Had to Be You. I adore Phoebe Sommerville and have read my many copies of it countless times. Phoebe is perfectly imperfect.


After reading Ain't She Sweet? for the third time, it comes in as my second favorite. After that, I'm at a loss as to what's next. Or was, until I read Natural Born Charmer. It really is a charmer. SEP is a master at great openings, and NBC has a terrific one. I really liked the flawed hero and heroine. Stubborn, secretive, but both full of sass and humor. The verbal sparring between the two of them is fabulous. It's a story that's both fun and thought provoking. A definite will-read-again for me.

What's up next? I haven't decided. I may take a trip to buy some new books this weekend. Not that I don't have any, but I like to have a nice, tall stack of TBRs to keep things interesting.

Harlequin American Romance - July

The July Harlequin American Romance books are available now!

Don't forget to visit the HAR Author Blog and get to know the authors.

Movie Mania--Debut!

For the past 10 days I've been dealing with an asthma attack. I don't normally have a problem with asthma. In fact, there's only been one other time I've been "attacked" by it, and that was 9 years ago! But something triggered it again, and even knowing that it could be controlled only by going to the doctor, I put it off again. Luckily this time it wasn't so bad that I couldn't even drive. I saw the doctor this morning, and by noon was on meds and feeling much, much better.

The reason for the above is because it explains a new topic, aka a label. (Look at the bottom of each post, and you'll see a label describing what topic the post falls under.) Because I found I couldn't do much of anything while trying to breathe under this new attack, I dove into my movie collection and watched a few.

I love movies. Old movies, new movies, action/adventure movies, romantic comedy movies, musical movies... Yes, the list is endless. I've been watching movies since I could sit down in front of a screen (TV in most cases) and not fall asleep. And because I love movies so much, it's impossible to pick one favorite. I have groups of favorites.

I started collecting movies during the advent of the VCR. I never counted how many movies we bought during that time, but there were bunches. And bunches. I've now moved on to DVD, although I can't say I was among the first to do so. I tend to drag my feet when it comes to new technology. That could be why I never had a Beta VCR or movies on laser disks, so maybe "caution" is a good thing after all.

Last count, we (my youngest daughter and I) have 266 movies on DVD, and that isn't a completely accurate count. The 7 seasons of Buffy that belong to my daughter are not among those 266 (and not really "movies"), and there may be one or two others that are missing, not to mention that most of the kidlets movies are not listed either. We now keep a database of movies, and I've lost count of how many times I've had to call home to ask if we have this movie or that movie so I don't buy something I already have.

My birthday present to myself this year was to splurge on movies. I bought 16 within a little over a week. I did find some great bargains, though. And because I have so many and lots of people love movies as much as I do, I decided to share some of my thoughts on the movies I now own. No, not all 266, but the best (and maybe worst, in my opinion) of the lot. It's also an excellent way to make myself WATCH some of the movies I haven't even opened yet!

Here's the list of those newest ones, but I'll decide later which 2 or 3 to post about next week.
TWISTER (Because Gavin, the oldest of my two grandsons, begged to see it.)
THE MIRACLE WORKER (The original with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, of course.)
FANTASTIC FOUR
FANTASTIC FOUR - Rise of the Silver Bullet (Both of these because I liked them and thought Gavin would, too.)
INHERIT THE WIND (One can't go wrong with this excellent classic, and I've seen it on stage)
INDEPENDENCE DAY (I have it on tape, but it was a must-have on DVD)
JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (A classic must-have that I've only seen once on the late, late show.)
DAREDEVIL (Well, gee, I have ELEKTRA, and who can resist Ben Affleck! yum, yum)
PARENTHOOD (I cry at the end of this because it's a happy ending and Steve Martin does such a great job as the dad...and more reasons later.)
12 ANGRY MEN (I read the play before I saw the movie. Another great classic.)
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (Hey, I missed it on TV too many times, so had to have it.)
BLAZING SADDLES (The first Mel Brooks movie I remember seeing.)
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (More Mel and company and requested by my daughter. We have 3 others.)
AND THE BAND PLAYED ON (Already owned on tape, but this couldn't be passed up.)
JFK (Another owned on tape and one of the few Kevin Costner movies I like. please don't boo me. :) )
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

Eclectic mix, isn't it? Next week, movie mania (and this movie maniac) will begin in earnest.

And hugs to everyone out there who has to deal with asthma day to day. My heart goes out to you.